ALBUM REVIEW: Radian, "Chapters"

By: Peter Morsellino 

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 06/02/2020

Label: Independent

“Chapters” DD track listing:

1). Stonier

2). Nothing Gets Through

3). Beast

4). Hearts of Metropolis

5). Not Dying

The Review:

Mixing earth shaking doom with sweetly flowing melodies can be a tricky task to master. Many times, you can end up with a noisy mess that drowns out any intricacies that were included.  Conversely, there's always the possibility of watering down the product too much, stripping it of any of the power and aggression that it once contained. On “Chapters”, Radian walks this line skillfully, delivering a well-rounded album that stays fresh over repeated listens.

The heaviness of “Chapters” cannot be understated. Low tuned riffing rattles the earth to its very core, with punishing density and a molten anger that burns clean through the soul.  Melodic lines sing like weeping angels, creating a stark contrast to the destruction Radian unleashes.   The top-notch production of the album plays no small part in this. With such crushing tones, it can be incredibly easy for a mix to become muddy and lose all distinction.  This is not the case here, as every brutal note and melancholic wail can be heard with crystal clarity. Bass enthusiasts will rejoice at the amazing bass tone which cuts through the mix like a knife through butter. With the amount of noise this band makes, the transparency is quite frankly awe inspiring. 

Album opener “Stonier” showcases Radain's ability to blend darkness with light expertly. Stoner rock riffs descend into full on doom chaos.  Interspersed with an endearing sadness with beautiful melodies floating through the tracks nine plus minutes, “Stonier” breaks through the gate with a statement of just what this band is capable of.

“The Beast” is a surprise helping in the center of a pleasantly surprising record. Channeling the likes of Tool and Marilyn Manson in a disturbing introduction before sliding intonation melodic sludge which is hard to beat by the best in the genre. Vocals standout on this track, offering up a wide arrangement of styles and techniques.

Radian come on strong with “Chapters” and they do not let up until it's over. With crunchy but melodic guitars, varied vocals, a driving rhythm section and a bass tone that can't be duplicated, this one is certainly a fresh take on the sludge sound as a whole.  Sure to be enjoyed over repeated listens, I simply can't recommend this one enough.

“Chapters” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM PREMIERE: Reflex Machine deliver a fist in the face to mediocrity on "Interzone"

Hailing from Columbus, Ohio, the duo known as Reflex Machine beat the living piss outta their drums and bass to create a sound that envelopes a myriad of influences and yet they create music that isn’t the usual garden variety bullshit.  Delivering Sumac like intensity, crushing psychedelic sludge and mind-melding rhythms, this band have emerged to deliver a fist in the face to mediocrity. 

Reflex Machine release their new record today entitled, “Interzone”, so if the notion of a lovechild between Sumac, early Mastodon, Neurosis, and At the Drive-In sounds of interest, then “Interzone” is streaming in full below.  Turn the volume up to 11 and let your speakers die!! Order HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

 

ALBUM REVIEW: Beneath Oblivion, "The Wayward and the Lost"

By: Mark Ambrose

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 27/03/2018

Label: Weird Truth Productions

“The Wayward and the Lost” may be the first album to induce lethal sepsis, especially for those unprepared for the sheer annihilating depths of the quartet’s funereal, occasionally sublime, brand of sludgy doom.  For those who revel in plumbing the nightmarish depths, this nihilistic plunge is just the trip you need.

“The Wayward and the Lost” CD//DD track listing

1. The City, A Mausoleum (My Tomb)

2. Liar’s Cross

3. The Wayward and the Lost

4. Savior-Nemesis-Redeemer

5. Satyr

The Review:

               

There was a period in my late teens where I’d throw in my DVD of “Requiem for a Dream” every week.  Already cripplingly depressed, there was something cathartic to what, until that point, was maybe the most soul-crushing movie I could find (I hadn’t yet discovered Michael Haneke, Lars Von Trier, or any other miserable Euro-directors).  While I wish I was cool enough to have been spinning truly nihilistic funeral doom, sludge, and black metal, I was probably listening to early naughts emo or Nine Inch Nails or, if I was feeling political, some CRASS.  But maybe it’s for the best I didn’t have a band like Beneath Oblivion to pull up after a late night viewing of Jared Leto’s necrotic arm amputation – my vital organs may have shut down out of sheer despair.  Through a blend of post-rock cinematic composition and death doom tone, Beneath Oblivion’s “The Wayward and the Lost” is a painfully addictive listen for anyone craving a nihilistic trudge through societal misery.

               

From the outset, Beneath Oblivion wears their Godspeed You! Black Emperor inspiration on their sleeves.  The opening samples, haunting evocations of modern industrial alienation, nearly overwhelm the clean, twangy guitar chords and sparse percussion.  But when the distorted assault kicks in, beauty is quickly annihilated – lead vocalist Simpson’s wailing, spectral vocals.  While the sound may be post-apocalyptic, the lyrical content is all too painfully situated in the present crises of civilization: “I never believed, / In man or saviors. / This world in decline, / The needle, the wasted.”  Throughout the vacillations between reverb-laden clean guitar breaks and fuzzy, gut churning chords, the throbbing hum of Keith Messerle’s bass lines and trudging smash of Nate Bidwell’s drumwork sound like the spastic heartbeat of a dying leviathan.

               

Occasionally, I wish I could get a little more clarity when hearing the sinister, crackling sample work Allen Scott weaves through “The Wayward and the Lost”.  The inflections sound just right, but I’m wondering if I’m missing out on some of the more interesting spots in “Liar’s Cross” or the monologue at the heart of the death doom title track.  Which isn’t to say Beneath Oblivion buries everything in distortion.  The folky guitar tones, subtle organ lines, and hypnotic background vocals of “Liar’s Cross” are all brilliant counterpoints to the crackling malevolence at the heart of the song.

               

The closing track, “Satyr”, is a propulsive, cinematic opus on a record stacked with epic, expansive compositions.  Layered with samples, countered guitar and bass harmonies, crackling static, and the typically massive drum tone, the cumulative effect is nearly orchestral.  But this isn’t some triumphant lift out of darkness.  Simpson instead spits out a hate-filled eulogy for a damned race: our own.  “We, the futile, / Hand of man's failures, / We, the worthless / Forgotten, the void / Of light, Of suffering.”  These are lacerating condemnations that could give you tetanus.  As a final kiss-off, he advises “Hold on- To your guns / To your drugs / The end is near.”  With a final, painful sample of chugging exhaust and ambient industrial noise, there’s little doubt that Beneath Oblivion’s prophecy feels all but carved in stone.  “The Wayward and the Lost” may be the first album to induce lethal sepsis, especially for those unprepared for the sheer annihilating depths of the quartet’s funereal, occasionally sublime, brand of sludgy doom.  For those who revel in plumbing the nightmarish depths, this nihilistic plunge is just the trip you need.

“The Wayward and the Lost” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

REVIEW: Haunt - "Luminous Eyes" [EP]

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: EP

Date Released: 28/01/2018

Label: Shadow Kingdom Records

Fitting in squarely with the likes of Cauldron, this is heavy metal of the old school done correctly and with affection. If you want traditional sounds with a dark edge to the songs, this is most assuredly for you.

“Luminous Eyes” CD//CS//DD//LP

1). Luminous Eyes

2). As Fire Burns

3). No Master

4). Fallen Star

The Review:

Haunt are brought to you by Trevor William Church of Beastmaker fame. This is four tracks of pure NWOBHM (or should that be NWOTHM?!) worship. Expect traditional sounds; solos, raw sounding drums, galloping rhythms and also a fair amount of melancholy. Pitched somewhere between Maiden and Angel Witch, this is straight up heavy metal. The title track is rather slow burning and thoughtful but things heat up appropriately with “As Fire Burns”. The track rocks hard and features a kind of revved up Witchfinder General vibe paired with a victory /vengeance-shall-be-mine theme. Killer.

The quality and energy level is kept right up there with “No Master”, which features the type of riffage which, had this been made by a band in 1981 from, say, Newcastle, would have inspired  Metallica to cover it many years later. The EP closes with the grandiose sounding “Fallen Star”- all widdly leads and riffs, coupled with the loping gallop that the EP exhibits at various times throughout.

Fitting in squarely with the likes of Cauldron, this is heavy metal of the old school done correctly and with affection. If you want traditional sounds with a dark edge to the songs, this is most assuredly for you.

“Luminous Eyes” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook