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This is 'Liberation through Amplification.'
By: Andrew Davie Album
Type:Full Length Date
Released:
06/01/2020 Label:
Shadow Kingdom Records
“Mind
Freeze” CS//CD//DD//LP track listing:
1.
‘Light The Beacon’
2. ‘Hearts On Fire’
3. ‘Mind Freeze’
4. ‘Divide And Conquer’
5. ‘Saviors Of Man’
6. ‘Fight Or Flight’
7. ‘Have No Fear’
8. ‘On The Stage’
9. ‘Voyager’
The
Review:
Haunt
began in 2017 as a solo project of musician Trevor Church. Initially, Church
played guitar, drums, bass, recorded, and distributed Haunt’s debut EP “Luminous
Eyes”. However, it’s grown into a full-fledged band with a lineup that
includes Church on guitar and vocals, John Tucker on guitar, Taylor Hollman on
bass, and Daniel “Wolfy” Wilson on drums. Haunt’s latest album, “Mind
Freeze”, is distributed by Shadow Kingdom Records.
Church,
a multi-instrumentalist, is no stranger to metal. He played bass for the band Inside
the Sun, drums for Worship of Keres, and sang for Wolf Ghost. Aside
from fronting Haunt, he currently plays bass for Hysteria and
doubles as the guitarist and vocalist for Beastmaker. Similarly, he
records and distributes music under his own banner Church Recordings.
Prolific in his output, Church put out 4 EP’s with Beastmaker, and 1 LP
with Haunt in 2018. Haunt has also put out 2 EP’s and 3 LP’s
since its inception.
While
many of Church’s other bands have more of a doom vibe, Haunt has more
NWOBHM influences, and would fit in nicely on a bill that included early Iron
Maiden, and 80s eraJudas Priest.
The
musicianship is stellar which results in tremendous guitar harmonies between
Church and Tucker. Tracks like “Light the Beacon” and “Have No Fear”
are melodic throwbacks which include aspects of prog rock such as great use of
synth accompaniments. Other tracks like “Mind Freeze” and “Divide andConquer”hit you at breakneck speed. The arrangements are
complex and result in multiple time signature changes which gives the band
plenty of chances to demonstrate their musical chops. Haunt has picked
up the torch for thrash and run with it. The album uses all the building blocks
to construct an excellent installment in the genre. If you are a fan of early
thrash, this album is for you.
The
Philly punk scene is a powerful thing. It has always been defined by house
shows, heavy riffs and a dedication to the layer of crustiness that makes the
city so wonderfully twisted. It should come as no surprise that this bastion of
hard hitting punk rock would be a lodestone for some of the best punk rock
talent in the world. Such was the case for the mysterious Australian born
guitarist of California Motorhead tribute band Motorbabe, and now frontwoman of hard hitting punk thrash
heavyweights, Roadkiller. When she (who shall remain
nameless) flew out to visit a friend she couldn’t get enough of the punk scene
and when she met a drummer who was down to jam, she realized destiny was
calling.
After an initial burst of shows, Roadkiller quickly
recorded their self titled debut EP, a record fated to make your ears bleed in
all the right ways. This is guitar driven high energy riffage. Clearly inspired
by the eighties but capable of tapping into so much more, these songs will make
you want to tear shit up as you scream along to powerful choruses and
nightmarish verses. Created with the goal of fusing punk, hard rock and
crossover thrash whilst still remaining uniquely Roadkiller
the band is on a mission to write quality heavy music and play out as much as
possible.
With dreams of constant touring and a dedication to quality songwriting, Roadkiller are more than just another punk band. We are
witnessing the birth of a well oiled machine, a group who represent the magic
of all the underground has been and will be.
Blending classic vibes with a modern tinge, Roadkiller are exactly the sort of band we need in 2018.
Constantly punching above their weight class and sneering their way to the top
of the notorious Philadelphia scene, any way you slice it, Roadkiller
are out for blood. Their self-titled
debut EP will be released on November 16th 2018 and the five blistering tracks
are the perfect combination of thrash, metal and punk attitude. The EP is
highly recommended for fans of Megadeth, Motorhead and
Exhorder. Check it
out in all its thrashing glory below
Castle remain unique and mix up the sounds and
approaches of many of your favourite bands to create a superlative heavy metal record
“Deal Thy Fate” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1). Can’t Escape the Evil
2). Skull in the Woods
3). Prelude
4). Hexenring
5). Wait For Dark
6). Deal Thy Fate
7). Haunted
8). Red Phantom
9). Firewind
The Review:
Castle have been on quite the
prolific run since 2011; this is their fourth full length. 2016's “Welcome To The Graveyard” was a great,
great album and my favourite of theirs to date. Is “Deal Thy Fate” a step forward, sideways or back? Either read on or
go and listen to it to find out...
The
band remain with a foot/other body part in several different camps. It's not
doom, it's not trad, it's not thrash, it's not rock. In fact, it's all those
things mixed together. The band have a spooky vibe and veer towards the doom
rock of Pentagram
at times, but there are many riffs here which lean towards, or even heavily on,
Slayer
for reference. From the opener of “Can't
Escape the Evil” and into“Skull in the Woods”, you can only
assume that Castle
have summoned Jeff Hanneman's spirit and he has communicated what he would have
played from beyond the grave, leading Mat Davis to oblige. That's not to take
away from the material, it's a fresh angle for the band and they work it well.
Over
the course of the eight tracks and one interlude here, Castle have added to their sound
and built solidly on their previous three records. “Hexenring” could have nestled very comfortably into “WTTGY” and the vocals of Liz Blackwell
are as stellar as ever. “Wait For Dark”
is dramatic and evil in delivery and riffage and shows the band have retained
an endearing rawness to their approach. My digitally provided copy has a few
glitches here and there- it is hard to ignore at times with a couple of jumps
in this track and others.
Digital
issues aside, the sound of the album and the title track are reassuringly
analogue. The evil and dark vibes continue and work really well with
Blackwell's schizophrenic vocals. Once again, Castle are hard to pigeon-hole;
the title track could be out of the Angel Witch NWOBHM play book, while “Haunted” goes much further towards hard
rock. There may be nothing as immediate as “Flash of the Pentagram” here, but the songs throughout are
uniformly strong and the production is perfect for the band.
The
melting pot of hard rock and Slayer-esque riffing continues with “Red Phantom” and it delivers a storming
and hard rocking penultimate track for this confident album. For the closing “Firewind”, Castle slow things down and
offer up a track which starts effectively as a maudlin ballad and then gets
heavier. Hey, if it's good enough for 70's era Priest... it's good enough for
anybody. Castle
deliver a surprisingly emotional final statement and close out the album with
strength and purpose. The band have progressed here, no doubt, and they have
set themselves up for a broader sound on their next album- should they wish to
deliver such a thing. Castle remain unique and mix up the sounds and
approaches of many of your favourite bands to create superlative heavy metal and
hard rock. Excellent.
Order “Deal Thy Fate”direct from
the band HERE and via Ripple Music HERE.
Nomasta keeps
its debut highly listenable by balancing artistry with barbarism. It is those
moments of elegant song writing counterbalanced by ruthless arrangements that
are just timeless metal. "House Of The Tiger King" gets you hyped for
whatever chapter two becomes.
"House of the Tiger King" DD track listing:
1.
Death Rattles
2.
The Book Burners
3.
Sir Impaler
4.
Alchematic
5.
House Of The Tiger King
6.
This Trail Got The Best Of Us
7.
At The Mercy Of Sleep
8.
Hard As A Coffin Nail
9.
Dawnbreaker
The Review:
Everyone
says they can merge lots of styles. Far too much of the time, it is super
awkward business or feels inferential. Many groups suggest they can make their
many inspirations work as well as a Mastodon or Converge do. Nope. They end up
sounding like Mastodon
or Converge
cover bands doing original music of vacillating quality instead. No need to
name names. You can fill in the blanks there.
A
new Leeds trio, Nomasta have had several
iterations in its life. Formed from the ashes of Canaya, with Owen Wilson on
guitars and vocals and Andy Richards (formerly of alternative metal act Nerve Engine)
on drums, Canaya’s
dissolution saw the entry of Kris Allen on bass. With that, Nomasta
was born. It steps into the pocket of many sounds. The young three-piece does so
with an aptitude beyond its years.
Billed
as a thrash band with doom elements, you will most likely catch hardcore,
progressive and sludge influences throughout "House of the Tiger King," the band's debut album. And what a
journey it is.
The
recording begins with "Death
Rattles," which is a perfect introduction to a distinctive sound.
Solid thrash synthesized with psychedelic and progressive essentials make this
a worthy representation of Nomasta's vision. Though only two minutes, the
cut's napalm spray of guitars and vocals are searing. It is a ferocious scene
setter for "The Book Burners,"
which rips through with melodic thrash. The riffs are withering. The vocals are
coarse. And here is where Nomasta also proves impressive: track
selection comes in with a high musical IQ. "Sir Impaler" continues the onslaught, while introducing dashes
of prog and hardcore, which flow exceedingly well into "Alchematic" one of the proggier
cuts. It goes on more of a thrash jag two minutes in, but remains steady in that
early tone, carried throughout.
The
title track leads you into the second half of "House of the Tiger King." Here, the music picks up the pace
with a driving rhythm section and vocals riding the crest of big riffs. The
band's players have much experience beyond Canaya, and that experience seems evident as
the mood cascades from heavy chords, into more smooth musical transitions.
"This Trail Got The Best Of Us"
sees Nomasta
get darker and even denser in its thrash, while songs like "Mercy of Sleep" and "Hard As A Coffin Nail" rain down
hell in the form of demonic percussion and forceful lyricism.
Nomasta keeps its
debut highly listenable by balancing artistry with barbarism. It is those
moments of elegant songwriting counterbalanced by ruthless arrangements that
are just timeless metal. "House Of
The Tiger King" gets you hyped for whatever chapter two becomes.
Inspired
by Iron Maiden, Metallica,
Motorhead, Dissection and Slayer, Montreal, Québec’s WarCall play
fast, aggressive, melodic, dramatic and aggressive music, no that’s not a typo,
you read it correctly, double the aggression and with three well-received
albums under their bullet-belts (‘Demonarchy’,
‘Blood, Guts and Dirt’, ‘III’), this power-trio are about to
unleash their fourth ‘Invaders’. The
album features 10 tracks and is a concept record based on humans fighting back an alien
invasion.
“Everybody who has followed WarCall since our beginnings will be extremely satisfied
with ‘Invaders’. It is our best sound, best production, best song writing
and best musical performances. The new album is a return to the style on
the first two albums. On album ‘’III’’, we wanted a raw approach so it
was recorded live in the studio on analog tape for a truly rock and roll
feel. With ‘’Invaders’’, it’s a more polished production with more energy
and experience.” says guitarist Mathieu Simard
Warcall’s forthcoming
album “Invaders” is due out October
13, 2017 via Plan B Music and today
you can check out a new and exclusive track
“Riding With Zombies” below.
6.
Korgüll the Exterminator, 7. Technocratic Manipulators, 8. Macrosolutions to
Megaproblems,
9.
War and Pain Medley, 10. Brain Scan, 11. Psychic Vacuum, 12. Order of the Blackguards
13.
Holiday in Cambodia,
14. Batman
The
Review
For
at least a decade, since the remastered re-release of 1984’s debut album “War and Pain”, Voivod fans have clamored for the
long-promised follow-up reissues/expansions of the key “Noise Records Era”
triumvirate of thrash-speed-prog-punk-industrial madness from Quebec’s cornerstone quartet of metal.This desire to “plumb the vaults”, as it
were, was only exacerbated by the untimely death of guitar wizard Denis D’Amour
in 2005.D’Amour, better known as Piggy,
left enough material to cut two
additional albums: “Katorz” (2006)
and “Infini”(2009).Remarkably, the
band has continued to perform and produce new albums, though not at D’Amour’s
breakneck pace.In that time, performers
as disparate as Dave Grohl, Vektor, and Ryan Adams have espoused the legacy of Voivod,
arguably raising the profile far beyond what D’Amour would have expected in his
lifetime.
As
for the records themselves, what else can be said for Voivod’s early output in
2017?For one, this is the sound, the
feel, the overall aesthetic of a band enmeshed in creative unity.In the lengthy essays accompanying each
album, D’Amour’s surviving band mates explain their remarkable commitment to
collaboration: Away took a year off to hone his drumming ability before the
recording of “War and Pain”, while
developing the visual elements of band.Snake, presented with Away’s artwork and Piggy’s compositions, crafted
lyrics that distinguished Voivod’s unique brand of obliquely political,
dystopic storytelling.Blacky,
meanwhile, worked extensively with Piggy to create complimentary riffs that,
especially when reviewing the live tracks and videos, illustrate the remarkable
sonic fullness of the band, despite lacking a live rhythm guitarist.With these four elements operating at the top
of their respective games, it’s still remarkable that in the span of three
years, Voivod
created a trio of albums that thrash harder than 90% of thrash acts today.
“RRRÖÖÖAAARRR”, the “pure”
thrash record, is a step up from their Metal Blade debut production wise,
though the band laments the subpar bass tracking, due to a last minute robbery
of the recording space.This may be a
case of artistic perfectionism, as the dynamics on display are as crisp as any
I’ve heard recently.Thankfully, none of
these reissues suffer from the massive compression of some others from the same
era, eschewing the excessive volume tinkering and allowing the original recording
to mostly stand on its own merits.And
over the course of its nine tracks, “RRRÖÖÖAAARRR”
proves why it won over early skeptics – from the first minute, it just fucking
rips.Sure, Snake’s vocal attack is
idiosyncratic at times, but as a veteran performance artist, he sells every
verse with a punk’s intensity.Away may
still be imitating Motörhead, but the propulsive energy is
undeniable.And Piggy’s chaotic riffs on
homemade guitars and effects pedals stand up to any of his contemporaries’
technical precision.
If
“RRRÖÖÖAAARRR” was the reiteration of
Voivod’s
place among the cutting edge of thrash, “Killing
Technology” is the anarcho-punk speed metal hybrid that cemented their
reputation as genre defying tech wizards.Now a road hardened machine, the band was expanding their musical
tastes, and it shows: while the metal spirit remains, there are definitely more
hardcore and punk influences on display.Piggy’s riffs are sometimes minimalist, creating tonal soundscapes
before erupting into technical acrobatics.Away continues to hammer out double-bass marathons, but also shifts on a
dime throughout, verging on jazz polyrhythms in classics like “Tornado”, “Order of the Blackguards”, and the explosive title track.Snake sounds even better, embracing
production to slide into different characters.And ok, the bass really does sound better than on “RRRÖÖÖAAARRR”.
“Dimension Hatröss” is, without a
doubt, a full on prog metal masterpiece.While the earlier albums were arguably conceptually unified, for the
first time Voivod
crafted a true concept album around their band “mascot”, Korgüll, who travels
through a universe created by a particle accelerator.With their avatar charting new territories, Voivod
was spiritually freed – incorporating industrial elements, fusing thrash
shredding with propulsive hardcore riffs, and all the while Snake blossomed
into the singer/storyteller/actor he’d always verged on becoming in the earlier
records.Perhaps the most remarkable
element of “Hatröss” is the relative
economy of songwriting; each song hovers around 5 minutes, but doles out
concentrated prog power that most bands can’t equal in multi-part “epics”.Plus, they’re actually catchy!“Chaosmongers”
would feel at home in a punk compilation, albeit with the most technically
skilled punkers you’d ever encountered.Like a perfect short story collection, each track is stellar on its own,
but together spells out a terrifying vision of extradimensional nightmare
exploration that’s as exhilarating as you can imagine.Plus, the Batman cover really rips.
Along
with the original albums, these Noise Records deluxe 2 CD/1 DVD editions of “RRRÖÖÖAAARRR”, “Killing Technology”, and “Dimension
Hatröss” include hours of supplementary tracks, video, and bonus
materials.All the live video content
is, not surprisingly, very raw stuff, mostly captured on camcorder, while the
live CD audio varies between competent and pretty good bootleg quality.In all, each DVD contains at least 5 hours of
video footage, culled from each album’s respective tour, plus live demos that
most diehards have already traded with other Voivod completists.Perhaps the most interesting “bonus content,”
for a visual obsessive like me, are the slideshows of Langevin’s artwork, a key
component to this era of the band.It’s
easy to see how the disturbing, Heavy Metal inspired pieces Langevin was
producing could help Snake craft such evocative lyrics, and inspire Piggy and
Blacky’s discordant, broken tech songwriting.
At
the purely musical level, the bonus discs increased my admiration for Blacky’s
bass-as-rhythm-guitar style, and Piggy’s ability to balance both rhythm and
impeccable lead, nearly simultaneously.As a testament of a version of Voivod that many of us have never seen,
however, these archives are invaluable.There’s undeniable exuberance and showmanship even in the dingiest punk
clubs (some remarkably sparsely attended), while the increasing ferocity of the
band’s following is evident from tour to tour; Voivod was infectious in a way
few can comprehend, relying largely on word of mouth and a relentless pace of
output and live performance.In what can
be seen now as a disastrous precursor, the band was sidelined after “Dimension Hatröss”, as D’Amour has his
first terrifying encounter with cancer, from which he would eventually
recover. They would go on to push the
genre even further with the major label releases “Nothingface” and “Angel Rat”
(which could use the same type of loving reissues), but still mostly headline
the club and theater circuit, perhaps too abstract for the metal masses of the
early 90s, but also victims of bad luck.Blacky would leave the band and they would hopscotch among indie labels
before D’Amour’s death from colon cancer at the age of 45 – which would spell
certain doom for 99% of other bands.And
yet, here we are, with Voivod touring, still receiving raves for
their current output, and we’ve been presented an embarrassment of riches that
serve as testament to a band and a guitarist whose statures only seem to
increase with each passing decade.That
is, perhaps, the most unlikely triumph of this trio of albums: exceptional
dedication, artistic integrity, and solidarity are timeless.Dimensional displacement, war, apathy, cancer
– all are subsumed in the power of undeniable artistic triumph.Voivod cannot be killed.Now crank it up or Fuck Off and Die!
“War Moans” is fast, heavy and
vocally arresting, it is an album that is certain to leave you breathless.
“War Moans” CD//DD//LP track
listing:
01. Melt Your Mind
02. Bone Chain
03. Micro Aggression
04. Kiss of Death
05. Date with the Devil
06. Headrush
07. Irons in the Fire
08. War Moans
09. Wreck and Survive
10. Afterlife
11. Open Flame
12. Bandages
The Review:
Mutoid Man write the heaviest pop songs. Across third album ‘War Moans’, a triumph of melodious
calculated chaos, Steven Brodsky’s frantic, buzzing guitar work intertwines
brilliantly with the assaulting drumming provided by Ben Koller, who may only
play with a small kit, but utilises all his toys with a prestige pizzazz.
‘Melt Your Mind’ is a pop punk song
turned gangrene and nasty, slime oozing from their growling riffs while
Brodsky’s smooth, infectious vocal lines float atop the mix like leaves on a
river. ‘Micro Aggression’ meanwhile
is as virile as they come, a fast, blitzing song, iced with a simplistic but
divine chorus that injects itself right into your psyche, their ability to
balance the skull crushingly heavy – listening to this with headphones is like
having a self-induced aneurism – with those all important sing along moments is
one they have mastered on this record.
It is, as to be expected, a record brimming with
energy. There is no fucking about here, each song rages on like its own little
war, giving no quarter for the short but sweet time they play out for – most
songs don’t exceed three minutes in length. Then, the baton is passed for
another pop metal pummelling. Each song derives its own special feature, ‘Date With The Devil’, a song about
getting the Devil’s daughter pregnant, has a fun, comedic value to it, ‘Kiss Of Death’ is slow, evil and
grinding, but understandably the perfect single from the album while ‘Irons In The Fire’ has a hint of a
crack addled Iron Maiden to it, classic, anthemic yet
wonderfully peculiar too.
With 12 songs to bite into, the record provides
plenty of substance and value for money. ‘Headrush’
and ‘Afterlife’ have a thrash metal
vigour in their DNA, Brodsky’s lyrical attack on fire here. An album this fast,
heavy and vocally arresting leaves you a little breathless and so closer ‘Bandages’, which leans heavily upon “Jupiter” era Cave In,
iced with some fiery lead guitar work, is the perfect farewell. It eases its
foot off the gas and allows you to step back and really soak in what the hell
has just happened.
This album is insanely choreographed, the songs
whizzing off their tits and infected with irresistibly sassy pop melodies atop brutish
and gritty riffs, make no mistake ‘War
Moans’ is absolutely brilliant fun.
This is some quality music that draws
from many influences and I feel any metal fan should be able to enjoy it….
possibly even as the soundtrack to their next doom party.
“Skullossus”
CD//DD//LP track listing:
1. Welcome to the Shit Show 2. Gimme the Night, any Day 3. Battlepants 4. Double Barreled Shot-pun 5. The Crotch Wobbler 6. Existance is Pain 7. Broken Heart Heroin Man 8. Meowing at the Fridge 9. John Gar See Ya Later 10. The Balled of Tom Stones and Reg
Montagne (Part 1) 11. The Balled of Tom Stones and Reg
Montagne (Part 2)
The Review:
Gurt
is a four piece metal band from London,
UK. Their new
full length album is called “Skullossus”
and it is set to be released on May 1st, 2017. Gurt is a self proclaimed “party
doom” band but based on this album alone (it is all I know of the band), I
would have to somewhat disagree with that categorization. While it is true that
everyone loves a good party and that this album gives off an air of playfulness
and sleaze with its song titles, sound, and lyrics, to my ears, there seems to
be only slight traces of doom to be found within this volume of their music.
Instead, the sounds I hear on it are more like a mix of Black Breath, Pungent Stench,
and Clutch;
bands that are not very doomy but bands that most metal heads hold in high
regard nonetheless. Subgenre classifications be damned - let’s get down to
business….
The
album opens with a short intro track called “Welcome to the Shit Show,” which consists of a cryptic spoken word
message that warns of the end of the human race as we know it over what seems
to be some type of warping carnival organ notes setting the stage for what is
to follow. Shortly thereafter, the recording kicks off the embarkment with a
boot stomper called “Gimme the Night,
any Day.” This tune initiates their heavy buzzsaw sound and begins with a
sludgy pounding groove before a middle section breakdown gives way to a storm
of phasers that eventually leads us to a flurry of tortured screams and grim
chords which sound like they could have been pulled right from a classic
Swedish death metal album. This is a great, no nonsense opener to get the album
rolling off to a good start.
Third
track, “Battlepants,” is a rock
solid death march loaded with nothing but slam, stomp, and pound, that will
pulverize your speakers in a militarized procession for the entire duration of
the song. Some eerie and haunting background vocals in the post-chorus part are
a very nice touch and give the song that little extra something to show us that
Gurt
is not just another one-dimensional, ugly face. Fourth song, “Double Barreled Shot-pun,” is another
stone-faced groover of classic rock and roll revolutionary riffs. This one,
however, has a bit more of a bouncy 80s crossover feel. Being a child of the
80s myself, the song quickly got my blood pumping and my feet tapping with its
permeating rhythm. The fifth track, “The
Crotch Wobbler,” has a sexy and seductive saunter to it. It is chock full
of big stoner rock riffs and I can definitely hear this one being played at
numerous strip clubs in the Southern and Midwestern United States as some
freckled farmer’s daughter butters your corn cob amidst a back drop of soiled
Confederate flags.
Sixth
track, “Existence is Pain,” is a
playful little instrumental number, almost Primus-like in its funk and silliness. It also
comes complete with a cameo appearance by none other than MTV stars, Beavis and
Butt-Head to end the song. The track may seem a bit out of place, stuck in the
middle of all these heavy ragers but fuck it - this is art and the artist is
free to express themselves any way they choose. I salute the band for flying
their freak flag high and letting everyone know that they don’t take themselves
too seriously. Honestly, to me it’s a breath of fresh air in today’s modern
metal climate, especially for a band this heavy. Rolling right along to the
seventh track; “Broken Heart Heroin Man,”
is a raging, straightforward punk blast that will blow your hat off as it stays
in high gear energy for the entire eighty-three seconds of its duration. “Meowing at the Fridge” is a thick and
chunky, slow to mid-tempo chugger. The vocalist really gets guttural on this
one as he croaks, bellows, and screams his way through almost the entire four
minutes of the song. “John Gar See
Ya Later” is another straightforward riff rocker with an extremely catchy
chorus which I found myself inadvertently humming after the first listen. Its
dominating chorus coupled with a funky and psychedelic middle section featuring
some tasteful soloing by both guitar and saxophone making this one a unique and
interesting stand out track of the album for me. Tenth track, “The Balled of Tom Stones and Reg Montagne
(Pt. 1),” is where we finally get the doom side out of Gurt; death-doom to be more
exact. The song is suffocatingly heavy with moroseness, and serves as another
nod to classic Swedish death metal.
The
closing track, “The Balled of Tom Stones
and Reg Montagne (Pt. 2),” consists of little more than some faint gypsy
music set to a background of howling winds and is an interesting way to bring
the album to a close. It is the final brick in the shit house and brings to
light yet another side of the band’s many faces. Although the heart and soul of
“Skullossus” proves to be
straightforward, lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek, rocking songs, the band also
has many other distinctive sounds and quite a bit of depth when they feel like
showing it off to us. Many fragmented bits and pieces of death metal, doom,
punk, sludge, thrash, stoner, and funk also make their way into the album’s
well rounded repertoire. I really enjoyed “Skullossus”
and although many others may already be familiar with Gurt as they’ve apparently been
touring and releasing material for the past seven years, I was not previously
familiar with the band and I’m glad I was given the chance to review their
newest offering and become enlightened. This is some quality music that draws
from many influences and I feel any metal fan should be able to enjoy it….
possibly even as the soundtrack to their next doom party.
Oozing Wound take
the listener on a wild ride during the course of “Whatever Forever”. A perfect balance of no-nonsense,
metal mayhem and off-kilter complexity, it’s an album that sometimes strokes
its beard but always bangs its head.
“Whatever Forever”
CD//DD//LP track listing:
1).
Rambo 5 (Pre-Emptive Strike)
2).
Diver
3).
Deep Space
4).
Mercury in Retrograde Virus
5).
Weather Tamer
6).
Everything Sucks, and My Life is a Lie
7).
Eruptor
8).
Tachycardia
9).
You Owe Me, Iommi
10).
Sky Creep
The Review:
If
Saviours
crashed their van into a pool of radioactive noise rock sludge, the monster
that emerged would sound a lot like Oozing Wound. The Chicago trio’s new LP “Whatever Forever” is a potent blend of raw thrash and weird
excursions into the unknown that rocks hard at all times.
“Rambo
5 (Pre-Emptive Strike)” kicks things off in furious fashion with a
whirlwind of riffage and unhinged fretboard abuse. If Rambo 5 does get the
official go-ahead, the producers would be foolish to have anyone else but Oozing Wound
provide the soundtrack. This track sets the bar for excellent song titles
throughout the album too, beaten only by “You Owe Me, Iommi”, a brief clean
guitar interlude before the closing burn-out of “Sky Creep”.
If
Oozing Wound
were simply a thrash band they would still be awesome but it’s their epic
forays into stranger territory that provide the highlights on “Whatever Forever”.“Mercury
In Retrograde Virus” and “Weather Tamer” are both eight
minute monsters that showcase what the band are capable of when they slow their
assault down a touch and let their exploratory capabilities take over. The
mid-section of “Mercury in Retrograde Virus” particularly highlights the
skills of bassist Kevin Cribbin as the bass becomes the lead instrument while
guitarist Zack Weil lays down a solid foundation of riffage. This makes the
low-end impact all the more powerful when Cribbin and Weil revert to their
traditional roles. “Everything Sucks and My Life is a Lie” demonstrates another
facet of the band’s sound, a driving voyage with a melodic, spacey edge
courtesy of some delayed guitar that recalls Cave In’s more cosmic moments.
Oozing Wound take the
listener on a wild ride during the course of “Whatever Forever”. A
perfect balance of no-nonsense, metal mayhem and off-kilter complexity, it’s an
album that sometimes strokes its beard but always bangs
its head.
