ALBUM REVIEW: Arkaik - "Nemethia"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 29/09/2017

Label: Unique Leader Records

There are riffs, leads, changes, orchestral flourishes, contrasting vocals, epics, face melters and so on. This is not as immediate a record as “Lucid Dawn”, but it is more ambitious and I suspect that it will reveal depths that Arkaik's previous releases have not reached. A stunning effort.

“Nemethia “CD//DD track listing:

1). Occultivation

2). Of Violence And Pestilence Born

3). Order Of The Hierogon

4). Dweller On The Threshold

5). Futile State

6). The Eupnean Relic

7). Lifting Amnesia

8). Telegnosis

9). Nexion Stargate

The Review:

Arkaik return with another slice of state of the art tech-death. After the excellent “Lucid Dawn” almost exactly two years ago, the band have not rested on their laurels and have once again come up with an album's worth of shredding beastly metal. As I noted last time around, the dedication to their chosen craft is absolutely admirable. In 2015 I injected a little humour into the review, along with praise, but that humour may have done the band a disservice- “Lucid Dawn” is still in semi regular rotation for me to this day which proves that these guys may be practising in the garage every spare hour, but it is not for nothing by any means- they made a fantastic slab of metal two years ago. With that in mind, I was really looking forward to this record.

There are more detours this time around- classical-esque sections here and there to offer light and shade, plus a thick and muscular sound which is different enough to previous records to mark the album out, but clear enough to display the talents of those involved. This is impressive stuff, of that there is no doubt. Opener “Occultivation” is a dynamic track of violence and force with suitably widdly leads.

The synth/mock orchestral intro for “Of Violence and Pestilence Born” leads into a maelstrom of time changes, growled and Shrieked vocals and blasting. Heavy stuff- and hard to follow, too. There are surprises- the 9.34 of “Order of Hierogon” takes in choral effects, piano, orchestral synths and brutally efficient death metal. To keep this up for close to ten minutes is pretty sensational. Easy listening this is most certainly not, though and as a listener this album demands attention and will tax you.

In amongst the nine tracks, there are synth/ambient and instrumental pieces such as “Dweller On The Threshold” and “Listing Amnesia” and they fit rather nicely with the more straightforward likes of “Futile State”. Please note that straightforward does not mean easy! There is also serpentine riffing in “Telegnosis” as well as brutal blasting. There are enough twists and turns in that track alone for an average metal band's full album, but Arkaik make it sound easy.

The line up changes seem to have not affected the band one jot- this stuff is as technical and as brutal as it gets. By the time of closer “Nexion Stargate”, there will have been more than enough of all aspects to satisfy the most pedantic of listeners. There are riffs, leads, changes, orchestral flourishes, contrasting vocals, epics, face melters and so on. This is not as immediate a record as “Lucid Dawn”, but it is more ambitious and I suspect that it will reveal depths that Arkaik's previous releases have not reached. A stunning effort.

“Nementhia” is available here

Band info: facebook

Blade of Horus - "Monumental Massacre" EP (Review)

 By: Richard Maw

Album Type: EP

Date Released: 29/01/2016

Label: Lacerated Enemy Records

By the time of “Death of a Spartan King” (great track), the EP is well underway and you know exactly what to expect: blasting fury, with a surprisingly atmospheric bent to much of the riffing. If you have been digging bands such as Arkaik, Rivers of Nihil, Eschaton, Apocrophex et al. This is a must listen and this band has great things ahead of them. The final verdict? Blade of Horus are, indeed, razor sharp!

“Monumental Massacre” CD//DD track listing:

1). Intro

2). Monumental Massacre

3). Succumb to the Owerwhelming Stench of Necrophagia

4). Inhumane Experimentation

5). Death of a Spartan King

6). Descent into the Cosmic Realm of Everlasting Madness

7). Return to the Dark Gods

The Review:

Brutal and technical death metal straight out of... Sydney, Australia?! Well, why not?! So, what we have is: very speedy blasts, tight sound, very low growled vocals and screamed vocals and a focused attack of six tracks coming in between three and four minutes and an intro. It speaks volumes about the dedication of those involved that bands like this now exist; incredible musicianship and dedication to a very underground cause.

The themes take in ancient Egypt (don't think anyone in metal of any genre has done that before!) mythology and so on. All death metal, all the time! Until recently, the band did not have a permanent drummer, but with the skills of Kevin Talley playing session drums, his contribution is A1 in terms of content and execution. If their newest recruit can match what is on this EP…hats off to him!

By the time of “Death of a Spartan King” (great track), the EP is well underway and you know exactly what to expect: blasting fury, with a surprisingly atmospheric bent to much of the riffing. If you have been digging bands such as Arkaik, Rivers of Nihil, Eschaton, Apocrophex et al. This is a must listen. It is long enough to get a real flavour of what the band is all about and short enough to leave you wanting more. No mean feat for any “genre” band.

“Descent into the Cosmic Realm…” is impossibly serpentine in its riffing and soloing. Nice vocal effects and production, too. There is even a bonus track: “Return of the Dark Gods” is pounding and rolling in delivery- with blasts in place as well, of course. For fans of tech death, this EP is a must; no doubt, with a new drummer, this band has great things ahead of them. The final verdict? Blade of Horus are, indeed, razor sharp!

“Monumental Massacre” is available here

Band info: facebook

Fractal Generator - ‘Apotheosynthesis’ (Album Review)

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 02/10/2015

Label: Independent

….if The Terminator was sound tracked by a tech death record, it would perhaps be this one, tracks such as “Into The Unknown” search and destroy with a furious cacophony of spiralling riffage and drums that rattle past you at incomprehensible speed.

‘Apotheosynthesis’ DD track listing:

1. Cycle
2. Face Of The Apocalypse
3. Abandon Earth
4. Into the Unknown
5. Paragon
6. Human
7. The Singularity
8. Synthetic Symbiosis
9. Reflections

The Review:

Canadian tech-death with a sci-fi theme: that is Fractal Generator. It is entirely generic, of course, with blurringly fast drums and grindingly fast guitars. The vocals growl. End of.

Fortunately for Fractal Generator and unfortunately for those readers of The Sludgelord wanting reviews of bands who play riffs so simple that you could learn guitar, re-write them and re-record them all before the end of the first track of their self released EP, I love tech death. Thus, it is easy to surmise that I would love Fractal Generator. First track “Cycle” is a ripping and blasting tale of frantic drumming. Follow up “Face of The Apocalypse” features a rather irritating electronic beep (sort of like an alarm countdown or a spaceship entering a landing dock... or something) which I don't dig as much, but the playing is flawless.

“Abandon Earth” is more dramatic and has a lovely sensibility to the riffing. Again, there is synth lurking here and there- fair play to the band trying to open up their palate a little. As noted in recent Arkaik and Rivers of Nihil reviews, to do this music, for so little reward, for the amount of effort it takes is either the peak of artistry/heroism or the definition of pointlessness- depending on your view point. For me, admiration is available in spades for these guys. “Into The Unknown” is a furious cacophony of spiralling riffage and drums that rattle past you at incomprehensible speed. The tempos actually settle a lot on this one- blasting occurs, of course, but a lot of the track is at a relatively sedate tempo. While being faster than most people can play, of course.

“Paragon” features lock tight double bass drums rolling away at that superb slow death metal tempo. Think Immolation's “rolling tank” sound crossed with Morbid Angel, or similar. This track, as do other moments of the album, has an almost black metal type sound to some of the riffs- they are cold and angular and sinister in feel. A stand out, track, then!!

“Human” is fast and furious, again with a sci-fi and technological (not just technical) bent. Some of the tempo shifts and time feels are quite unusual too- good stuff. The outro is cool too. “The Singularity” offers up more of the same – if The Terminator was soundtracked by a tech death record, it would perhaps be this one- white noise synths crop up behind raging brutal death metal. “Synthetic Symbiosis” has an electronic intro which gives way to Dissection paced thrashing riffage. Again, there are tempo changes aplenty, with the overall effect quite bewildering.

“Reflections” comes in at number 9 to close proceedings. As is standard now, the track allows for a little light and shade from the band, as they again plunder the vibe of T2's futuristic scenes for a bleak and dystopian vibe. Samples abound regarding the universe, time and space. The band then goes for a full on instrumental of unusual riffs and time feels. As a closing statement it works brilliantly and book ends the record in great style. And yet... there is more! Kudos to the band for adding a” secret track”! That welcome feature of the CD era makes a return here. You get just under three minutes of added bonus music, which turns out to be a bleak little sinister instrumental.

As noted, Fractal Generator is of the genre and that is where they will remain. Not for them the plaudits of the Metal Hammer “Golden God” awards, perhaps never will they feature in a Terrorizer “band of the month” article. Nuclear Blast will not sign them. They exist, drifting through the asteroid field of sub genres, frantically trying to make human contact. I read their signal loud and clear, and I raise a salute to them, even as they go where many have gone before. The band are great at what they do and they have made a really good tech death album. Mission accomplished.

‘Apotheosynthesis’ is available here

FFO: Nile, Immolation, Dissection, Morbid Angel

Band info: bandcamp | facebook

Arkaik - 'Lucid Dawn' (Album Review)

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 30/10/2015

Label: Unique Leader Records

The band is to be commended for making such an engaging and impressive record. A tech-death hurricane of musicianship heroics.

‘Lucid Dawn’ CD//DD track listing:

1). Intro
2). From The Void
3). Digital Shroud
4). That Which Lies Hidden
5). Awaken The I
6). Fleshwalkers
7). Fusion Of Epochs
8). Lucid Dawn
9). Conjuring
10). Temple Aflame

Arkaik is:

Jared Christianson | Vocals

Ivan Munguia | Bass

Alex Hernandez – Best | Drums

Greg Paulson | Guitars

Miguel Esparza | Guitars (lead)

The Review:

Ah, tech death, where would my weekends be without thee?! After geeking out over the Death discography over the last week, I thought I would venture into the modern age. I'm glad I did, as album number four by these Californian garage and basement dwellers show that they have been doing their practising.

The intro sets the record up nicely before ‘From The Void’ lets you know what you could have achieved if you had stuck at playing every night instead of wasting your time with videogames, drinking and, you know, relationships and stuff. Joking and humour aside, this level of proficiency would have been unthinkable in the dark days at the start of the genre- it is just incredible how bands like Arkaik and Eschaton have taken the ball and run with it. “Seven Churches” this is not. It is brutally precise, with that bouncy pro-toolsy production that you really need with this type of stuff (you won't hear much of what is going on otherwise). In fact, the band creates a kind of ‘Digital Shroud’, appropriately enough, that allows them to really flex their muscles with their beastly playing.

I love this type of stuff, and when the bass break comes around the three minute mark... it's just fantastic. Naturally, the drums are hyper fast and hyper accurate, the guitars shred with convincing abandon and the vocals shred vocal chords just as effectively. Of course, it will be very difficult to explain to the layperson what drives musicians to do this: to get this competent and be able to record like this (much less play live convincingly) takes serious dedication and I take my hat off to every musician in this band for it. These guys really do this for the love. It sure as shit isn't the money or any other tangible reward, of which there is very little. It is niche, even within a niche genre, even within a niche larger genre. Tracks which ‘That Which Lies Hidden’ features as many twists and turns as you could hope for, complete with squeals and super cool soloing.

The rock solid blasting that heralds in ‘Awaken the I’ (with semi-quaver bass drums underneath) is exactly the kind of move that the band can pull off effortlessly and exactly the kind of thing that most people have no idea how much practice it takes to do (every night, hours a night, for some years and then you have it!). Any fool can learn some “beats” and “play drums, like, er, pretty well” but not many can do this stuff accurately with power and control. I raise my Janus twin kick long board pedals in salute, sir. Take a bow Alex Hernandez-Bent (whose CV reads very impressively indeed) you have delivered a death metal master class.

‘Fleshwalkers ‘takes us over the half way mark in some dramatic style and plenty of substance. Interesting quasi classical breaks too- again, this would have been unthinkably ambitious even 15 years ago. ‘Fusion of Epochs’ recalls Schuldiner in its ascending/descending opening but becomes a more brutal affair with stop start riffs and labyrinthine time changes. The title track ramps up the riff quotient considerably- ultra tech, ultra impressive in its musicality. ‘Conjuring’ again features a classical motif to start and then brings the ascent/descent again before dropping into a rather atmospheric and synth laden breakdown type section. Sense of foreboding duly created, the band then proceed to pummel your ears with razor sharp changes.

‘Temple Aflame’ finishes this deathly delight of an album in precise style.. And includes an extended outro, complete with voice samples and what have you. Your interest in this type of stuff may well be dictated by your interest in more straight ahead death metal and/or your appreciation of any one of the instruments involved (of course, there will always be some nobhead saying “well anyone could do that if they practised enough...” which is kind of the point; “anyone” doesn't and that is why they can't). If there was any justice in the world, then those at the top of their chosen craft would receive commensurate rewards. For the likes of Arkaik, though, praise from fools such as me will have to be a substitute. Believe me, this is very impressive stuff and exactly what I wanted to listen to this fine Sunday afternoon. The band is to be commended for making such an engaging and impressive record. A tech-death hurricane of musicianship heroics.

‘Lucid Dawn’ is available here

FFO: Deeds of Flesh, Inanimate Existence, Decrepit Birth, Fallujah

Band info: facebook