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This is 'Liberation through Amplification.'
New Jersey’s Vantafrost is an old school black metal quartet, riding
a fine line between first wave primalism and second wave speed crust. Time will tell whether they reach the insane
heights of Celtic Frost or Darkthrone, but on their debut they manage to meld
their ancestor worship with some genuine originality, and blast out some killer
metal along the way.
“Dispossessed” CD//DD track listing
1. Nazgul
2. Dark Hammer
3. Demon’s Breath
4. Lead Pumper
The Review:
In the States, black metal continues to
entrance newcomers and seasoned metal heads alike, especially in various hybrid
forms and blackened amalgamations. A lot
of this stuff is really interesting and challenging, and occasionally, it
actually rips. New Jersey’s Vantafrost is an old school black metal quartet, riding a
fine line between first wave primalism and second wave speed crust. On their debut EP, “Dispossessed”, they eschew too much experimentalism and instead
offer a lo-fi homage that occasionally betrays compelling musical influences
(beyond their beloved Tom Warrior).
Few topics are as ripe for black metal
adaptation as J.R.R. Tolkien’s blighted denizens of Mordor. Whether orcs, trolls, or the dark lord
himself, the demonic entities of Lord of the Rings are practically embedded in
the DNA of black metal. Vantafrost’s “Nazgul”
is a thoroughly menacing, literal retelling of the story of the ringwraiths,
propelled by crusty drumming, Hellhammer-reminiscent riffs, and subtle guitar
harmonies. Sun King’s strange cadence,
sometimes reminiscent of Attila Csihar, clutters and spreads over the verses –
a weird enjambment of syllables that is memorable, if an acquired flavor it
takes several listens to fully absorb.
“Dark Hammer” has
some solid first wave riffing, occasionally stuttering over idiosyncratic
rhythms, but coalesces around a switch to 6/8 time and a solid outro. “Demon’s
Breath” is practically a hardcore number, with a particularly smashing bass
tone. There is an insane, warped effect
on the vocal that can be unpleasantly or pleasantly disorienting – you may find
yourself wondering if you’re on the verge of an aneurysm. Closer “Lead
Pumper”, however, is a righteous finale, soaring on some brutally catchy
progressions and snarling vocals.
Another pop culture homage (this time to the classic demonic first
person shooter DOOM), “Lead Pumper”
manages to slip some personal anguish into an ass kicking track, lending some
emotional heft that should be explored more on their next release.
Vantafrost isn’t reinventing the wheel, but they manage
to infuse some life into the skeleton conjured by Hellhammer and their lo fi
cohort. Like the Swiss pioneers, their
EP is a warts and all affair. Time will
tell whether they reach the insane heights of Celtic Frost
or Darkthrone, but on their debut they manage
to meld their ancestor worship with some genuine originality, and blast out
some killer metal along the way.
What ‘I Am
Legion’ boils down to is this: Witchery proves here
that they’re a band still capable of greatness and creatively this isWitchery’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.
“Viige Urh” ignites stronger than the
incineration of flames; forcefully ascends high up to Valhalla— it is a
projection of eternality, packed up in a form of eight tracks as ferocious as
incendiaries.
“Viige Urh” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1, Viige Urh
2. Dagger Entombed
3. Age of Sail
4. Upir
5. Jutul
6. Punishment to
Confessions
7. Knifehall
8. Evolution and
Fate
The Review:
“Viige
Urh”,
the fifth studio album by the Oslo-based black metal act Sarke, is
a form of resurgence from the north that hails the nine realms and transcends
into time and space— just like its title that can be translated to “time that
has passed”. The concept of this album mainly revolves around the idea of time
passed; chronicles that never relent. Featuring a myriad of lyrical themes
ranging from realism, mythology, and history, it just seems as if these Nordic
lads are ready to reign the throne and reenact the legacy of the valiant
Berserkers in battles. They come off as profound in manifesting their vehement
characteristic of slow-paced beats and atmospheric riffs accompanied by the way
Nocturno Culto (of Darkthrone fame) sings
hymns in an exalted level, while featuring several takes of choirs, string
instruments, and poetry-like recitations. “Viige
Urh” ignites stronger than the incineration of flames; forcefully ascends
high up to Valhalla— it is a projection of eternality, packed up in a form of
eight tracks as ferocious as incendiaries. Released under Indie Recordings,
the release of “Viige Urh” comes only
about a year after Sarke’s previous album,
“Bogefod”.
The first, and also
title track “Viige Urh” presents
vicious riffs that happen to be the epitome of a trenchant sword that waves
upward against the collision of storms. And next up, there goes “Dagger Entombed” with its atmospheric
pace; it tells about powers and weapons, unleashed in a poetic way. “Age of Sail” opens up with a 30-second
killer riff that would remind you of the force of warriors that have slayed
battles of ages. The blasting beats of “Upir”
delivers some sort of a higher infernal power that reigns. “Jutul” features poignant notes of
string instruments and possesses the vibes of the ancient times; it opens with
soothing tranquil singing that later forms a convergence with the fierce vocals
of Nocturno Culto’s. The next track “Punishment
to Confession” unleahses a poetry-like recitation, followed by ethereal
choirs. “Knifehall” is one hell of a
god-tier fast paced chaos that appears as a multiverse of resilience and indignation.
The heavy last track “Evolution and Fate”
represents the violence of the sun that thrives into the constellations.
Having the
privilege to listen to this album before its official release date (October
13th), I personally am honoured; it is definitely worth listening. They sure do
have a concept, and their own inherent authenticity that clearly radiates from
the groove that they unravel. The incorporation of ’70s rock influence into the
black metal element also can be seen mostly from tracks like “Dagger Entombed” and “Age of Sail”. “Viige Urh” may revolve around the concept of time that has passed,
but still, it would transcend the facticity of time and provide eternal
eclectic madness.
By: David Majury, Curtis Dewar, Philip Weller, Chris Bull & Richard
Maw
Decades Apart
The idea of Decades Apart is pretty simple. I’ll choose 5
different albums from 5 different decades and I’ll share a little information
about them and hopefully you’ll check them out if you haven’t already. Today
is 1972,
1982,
1992,
2002
and 2012. Whilst some these albums may not all be
considered classics, they’re certainly amazing records. So be sure to check it out.
Deep
Purple – “Machine Head” (1972)
Fate
is a Deep
Purple fan. It moves in mysterious ways, but its actions made a
devastatingly big mark on the history of heavy music. What might have happened,
you wonder, had a Frank Zappa concert on 4th December
1971 not ended in the burning down of the Montreux casino in which they were
due to record? What would have happened if that fan-lit flare hadn’t been fired
into the building’s roof? Would the record have sounded the same were they not
forced to relocate, and indeed, what effect would it have had upon on the
lyrics of ‘Smoke on the Water’,
which were directly inspired by the whole drama?
That
juddering four note riff echoes through the ages of time, it’s inspired
thousands of young souls to learn the guitar and crowned what would become the
band’s most successful record, topping the charts across the world. It became a
definitive moment, not only in Deep Purple’s career, but in heavy music as a
whole. It turned so many people onto heavy music. So many of these people would
then go on to become greats in their own right, the likes of Iron Maiden and
Metallica,
to name but two, owing so much to the song. With that riff, Deep Purple
forged a legacy. Yet it could have all been so different had that fire not
happened.
Through
Ian Gillian’s inimitable introduction on ‘In
Rock’, their sound had gotten hairy, lairy and beastly. But with 1972’s ‘Machine Head’, they learnt to tame
their monster.
‘Highway Star’ the rocket fuelled, gas-guzzling
opener sets the tone of the album. With its breathless rapidity and
scintillating duelling solos courtesy of Ritchie Blackmore and the late, great
Jon Lord, they sounded deadly. Quickly followed by the tumultuous stomping riff
of ‘Maybe I’m A Leo’ and ‘Pictures of Home’, a song powered by
Ian Paice’s thunderous drums and boasting some gorgeous, soaring melodies, this
was their finest moment. ‘Lazy’ is
drawn out, ethereal and savage all the same, ‘Space Truckin’’ packing gigantean, insurmountable grooves. Every
song on the record is gold.
And
the rest is history.
Twisted
Sister – “Under The Blade” (1982)
1982
saw the release of what is perhaps one of the most underrated albums in the
history of heavy metal: "Under the
Blade" by Twisted Sister. While many modern day metal
fans take a look at the band's heavy make up/transvestite image and
automatically think "hair metal", the actual truth is that they were
much closer to Judas
Priest and even AC/DC in sound. While Twisted may have never reached
the stellar heights of those two bands, the quality of "Under the Blade" (and later
albums) cannot be denied. The album contains track after track of classic songs
like "What You Don't Know (Sure Can
Hurt You)", "Run for your
Life", "Shoot 'Em
Down" and "Sin After Sin"
that definitely give other classic albums such as "Screaming for Vengeance" and "The Number of the Beast" a run for their money.
If
you're one of those who never bothered to check the band out due to the 'glam'
metal image, I highly recommend that you start with "Under the Blade" and then proceed to listen to the rest of the
band's discography.
Darkthrone – “A Blaze in the Northern Sky” (1992)
After
the release of the solid yet unspectacular 'Soulside
Journey', Darkthrone
embraced the flourishing black metal scene that was sweeping through the fjords
and recorded 'A Blaze In The Northern
Sky'. While many believe 'Under A
Funeral Moon' and 'Transylvanian
Hunger' to be the pinnacle of the band's corpse painted output, it was on 'A Blaze...” where they were at their
coldest.
Starting with the ceremonial drums of the epic 'Kathaarian Life Code', a song which opened my eyes to the wonders
of frost like atmosphere, Darkthrone laid down the blueprint that they
would follow for years to come. While they had a few death metal riffs left
over ('Paragon Belial' in
particular), at the core is a dark and grim heart that bleeds the purest
blackness. The guitars may sound like a swarm of wasps, but that was their
intention on this, to make it as lofi and "necro" as possible.
Floor – “Floor” (2002)
Inspirational
records don't come along very often. The Stooges "Funhouse" was one when I first heard it around the late '80s,
"Nowhere" by Ride
around 1990 was another and "Bullhead"
by the Melvins
changed things again about a year later. I didn't play guitar when I first
heard those records, but I did by the time I heard Floor's self titled album.
If
Floor
had just played that opening riff for the duration of the record it would still
be one of the most magical records ever recorded, but of course they were/are
way better than that. Every song is just loaded with riffs that other bands
would kill for, only Floor would throw three of them into a two
minute song. There was no indulgence at all, no filler, no need to repeat
anything to fill space. This album is a template for how to use dynamics in
heavy music, but what sets it apart from every other ‘tuned to z’ band is the
melody.
Although
I’ve grown up with Black Sabbath and all the rest, I’ve always
loved melody in a song. The cookie-monster death grunt thing never appealed to
me, and I’d been listening to bands like The Pixies a lot more than any heavy music for
years. Suddenly here was a band with the heaviest riffs ever, but welded
together with unbelievable melody and heart-wrenching vocals. One listen to “Tales of Lolita” was enough to
completely change how I wanted to play music forever, and I suppose I’ve spent
the last ten plus years with Slomatics trying vainly to even get close to
what Floor
did so effortlessly on this record. Add to all this, the fact that the band
were almost completely unknown, that every live picture I could find of them
was playing to a half-empty tiny pub, and that they’d never even been out of
the States and I was hooked.
What
a legacy to leave for the then-defunct band. I’ve a friend who has a theory
that in every city there is a band somewhere, whether in a practice room or
playing one of those half-empty tiny pubs, which would absolutely blow your
mind. Floor
were that band for me, and although they are now deservedly much more well
known, at the time the very fact that they had existed and had written that
beautiful record was enough inspiration for me to do what I’ve been doing
since, and will never stop doing.
Dragged
Into Sunlight –
“Widowmaker” (2012)
In
a time when everything is known about everyone and there is no sense of mystery
about anything, Dragged into Sunlight are
a dynamic blast of fresh/fetid air. Indeed, nothing is really known about the
band- what is mentioned is mostly conjecture. Let it be said: this is a good
thing. The band retains anonymity and lets the music speak for itself.
When first reading about the new piece of music from Dragged into Sunlight some time ago it
was described as a single track lasting 40mins plus. Indeed, the promo copy I
have had on rotation is in this format. Research on Amazon indicates three
tracks of 14.51, 11.47 and 13.10 in length respectively. I have found
that the record works best when viewed as a single track- 40 minutes of
tortured paranoid hate and despair. If that sounds like your kind of thing...
Welcome aboard!
‘Widowmaker’ reveals
itself as a very different record to ‘Hatred for Mankind’ from
the first listen. What takes time is the depth of what is on offer therein to
reveal itself. From the first ominous twang of a clean yet eerie guitar the
sound is bleak and sets a mood that is unrelenting- even when the music employs
dynamic shifts and all kinds of instrumentation. Four to five minutes in
there are two guitar tracks building up an atmosphere that is the aural
equivalent to watching the first series of Lynch's Twin Peaks.
There is even a piano around the six minute mark. The first sign of any
distortion comes at 8mins 20secs. An almost folk feel is created by cymbals and
violin- and by that I do mean the good kind of folk. Think the feel of the
seminal film The Wicker Man and you have the right idea. The
samples of the first record are echoed over the first fifteen minutes but that
is the only real comparison I can draw.
It
may sound strange, but the first fifteen minutes fly past- the atmosphere,
tension and feel of the record is introduced leads the way to what could be
termed the second part of the album. A monolithic riff and the first scream
herald in the next movement. The familiar horrific vocals over the music create
a cacophony that is in stark contrast to the almost ambient first part of the
record. A low death growl is introduced after more samples, creating another
aspect and tonality for the listener. Just after twenty minutes an
ascending/descending riff is introduced with other instruments buried low in
the mix. The pounding double kick drums that were a great feature of their
debut for me are back here. On headphones the whole thing sounds
masterful and suffocatingly dense. There is even an almost stoner rock, Karma to Burn-esque feel around the twenty
three minute mark. It doesn't last long, though, and instead gives way to a
groove which in itself abruptly twists into doomy sludge, heralding in the
third and final part of the record.
‘Part
III’,
beginning as it does with very slow sludge, is different again to the previous
two parts. The bass, ringing out alone around thirty minutes in, offers up a
kind of distorted mirror of ‘Part I's atmospherics, indeed the record
almost feels as if it doubles back on itself. The band take us back to cleaner
guitar tones but five minutes from the conclusion the riffs, distortion and
crashing chords are back. The samples reach an apex for me as thirty eight
minutes rolls past- you'll have to listen to it for yourself to find out what
is said! After some frantic playing and vocals the whole thing dissolves into
howling feedback and there the journey ends.
It
is rare that a record of forty minutes feels this short. I can only conclude
that a lot of work went into making this piece of music- the pacing, peaks and
dynamics are all very well judged. It is an expertly paced soundscape that
should be viewed as a whole. If you do this and invest the time in it you will
be glad you did- the rewards are rich indeed!
I’ve spent a lot of my life listening to 90s black metal, and those
bands seeking to duplicate that sound in the present. There are bands that that
can do it well, even if they’re outright re-using another band's ideas. That’s
not Ifrinn. This isn’t a clone band. They’re a band entrenched in the past
creating music that would be revered alongside the classics of that era, were
it released at the same time. Instead, “Ifrinn”
is one of the great black metal albums of 2016, despite looking backward rather
than forward.
“Ifrinn”
MLP//DD track listing:
1.
Descent Into Shining Labyrinths
2.
Oracular Phantasms
3.
Dweller Within the Gulf
4.
Sulphurous Oscillations
5.
These Darkened Shrines
The
Review:
As
with just about any subgenre in metal, there are a ton of bands doing what’s
already been done. How you feel about that is up to you, but if you’re looking
for something that sounds like Iron Maiden
or Judas Priest, there are plenty
of bands doing an admirable job of taking that sound and making it their own.
The same can definitely be said for black metal, though not really any more
than any other genre. For every forward-thinking band, there are multiple
others trying to recapture old magic to varying degrees of success. When a band
genuinely succeeds at sounding like they’ve been dug out of some closet and
given first exposure to the world decades later, there’s a magic to that too.
Such is the case with Scotland’s
Ifrinn.
It’s
as if they recorded the album in 1991, locked it in a time capsule and someone
found it twenty five years down the road. It’s important to note a distinction
being made, though. It sounds like it came straight out of 1991, but it doesn’t
directly pilfer riffs or influence from the bands making their mark in that
era. “Ifrinn” conjures that old
atmosphere while creating a thunderous roar you can’t find anywhere else. They
don’t sound like Mayhem. They don’t
sound like Darkthrone.
Instead, they’re like a denser, more complex contemporary of those bands,
except that we’re just hearing the album in 2016.
Ifrinn is mature and
developed in a way that those early second wave black metal bands had no chance
of being, as those bands were primal trailblazers taking music in places it
hadn’t been before. So while Ifrinn has the
benefit of taking in decades of fantastic music in this style from a multitude
of great bands, they avoid the trap of trying to replicate any specific band’s
sound. It’s really difficult to pinpoint who they’re blending together, if
they’re even doing that at all.
Looking
at “Oracular Phantasms” as a
microcosm for the rest of the album; the song opens with a droning two-chord
riff atop a blast beat. The aura is immense. The recording is drenched in
reverb, though not enough to make this a black metal cousin to caverncore. The
sound is lively, in that the drums aren’t over compressed and the performances
are human, though never really sloppy. The riff, while seeming sort of plain,
effectively builds a whirling tension while slight variations and drumming
changes keep it from feeling monotonous. When the song finally makes that giant
shift into its second act (so to speak) at about 2:40 it feels like some great
explosion. It’s all crashing down beats driving deeper the notes a riff that
borders on doom/death. It’s the sort of songwriting payoff that exists in other
forms throughout “Ifrinn’s” thirty
minutes. A true indicator of the quality that permeates the rest of the album.
I’ve
spent a lot of my life listening to 90s black metal, and those bands seeking to
duplicate that sound in the present. There are bands that that can do it well,
even if they’re outright re-using another band's ideas. That’s not Ifrinn. This isn’t a clone band. They’re a
band entrenched in the past creating music that would be revered alongside the
classics of that era, were it released at the same time. Instead, “Ifrinn”
is one of the great black metal albums of 2016, despite looking backward rather
than forward.
