Ajuna - Prisoner of the Sun (Album Review)

Album Type : Full Length

Date Released :  27/09/2013

Label : Quality Steel Records

Prisoner of the Sun, album track listing :

1). Tribute 4:38

2). Medicin 3:26

3). Invisible Cut 5:25

4). Suntomb 4:50

5). Kaos 4:44

6). Death 7:23

7). Winter 4:04

Bio :

Ajuna's music is "Psychological" and "pre-Conscious". Hailing from Copenhagen, Denmark, AJUNA collectively created an introverted universe that revolves around emotional suffering, parallel realities, eccentric philosophy and death. Hailing from Copenhagen, Denmark, Ajuna collectively created to introverted universe did revolves around emotional suffering, parallel realities, eccentric philosophy and death. QUALITY STEEL RECORDS is going to release the psychotically atmospheric, dark toned and harsh debut full length album “Prisoners of the Sun” in the fall of 2013. QUALITY STEEL RECORDS is going to release the psychotically atmospheric, dark and harsh toned debut full length album "Prisoners of the Sun" in the fall of 2013. Consisting of 7 songs, “Prisoners Of The Sun” was recorded and mixed by producer Jacob Bredahl (The Kandidate, The Psyche Project, Koldborn, As we fight, The Burning, By the Patient, Helhorse.. etc.). Consisting of 7 songs, "Prisoners Of The Sun" which recorded and mixed by producer Jacob Bredahl (The Kandidate, The Psyche Project, Koldborn, As we fight, The Burning, By the patient, Helhorse etc.

The Band :

Skovsted

Hufsa Helmer

Trampe Hartfelt

Review :

Ajuna play atmospheric/bleak post black metal. They hail from Denmark. The sound hits you first; sombre and thick with warmth in the sonics, if not the material. It is indeed bleak stuff as Tribute opens proceedings with bm blast/roll style beats and plenty of slower tempo work. The guitars are atonal and rather menacing with some memorable riffing/progressions.

Medicin starts slow and in angular fashion. The instruments have a chance to breathe nicely with the thick production not stifling them. The bass has an excellent tone to it while the drums sound live and real. The vocals hit a familiar black metal style shriek in places, with a more deathly delivery also rearing its head.

Invisible Cut uses slow tempos to its advantage, breaking up the record nicely. The approach to start is veritably doomy with down tuned guitars and bass rumbling away. One guitar takes the riffing up the neck to move the sound into more familiar blackened territory while the groove locks down then lurches upwards with only a little warning (listen to it and you will hear what I mean).

Suntomb sounds almost like post punk to start and carries with it an odd, head nodding pace that utilises the fast picking/slow melodic progression of black metal well before blurring into noise for the verses. The album's title is in the lyrics (as you may have guessed from the title) and the record does indeed remind me a little of Dragged Into Sunlight during at the half way point.

Kaos has an almost pleasant type of shoegaze-ish riff at first but the despair sets in soon enough as again the tempos vary and the tracks shifts through the various gears creating a rather (un)pleasant soundscape.

Death comes ripping (apologies) out with distorted and rhythmical bass work creating a solid bedrock with the drums as the guitars reinforce and accentuate the rolling refrain. Again, the guitars do unusual things- at once fast and furious but supplying angular melodies also. The band make good use of this trick over this (the album's longest track) and over the whole record. There is certainly light and shade within the track as fury is juxtaposed with rays of hope here and there.

Finally Winter brings this unusual and engrossing album to a conclusion with a thick wall of noise taking as the band make use of the warm production- noisy and artful just about sum the track up. Fancy something a little different? Post black metal with a wide scope of sounds, this record is excellent and is well worth your time.

Words by : Richard Maw

You can buy it here

For more information :

www.ajunamusic.com

http://ajuna.bandcamp.com/

http://www.youtube.com/ajunamusic

https://www.facebook.com/ajunamusic

 

Gnaw - Horrible Chamber (Album Review)

 

Album Type : Full Length

Date Released : 15/10/2013

Label : Seventh Rule Recordings

HORRIBLE CHAMBER, track listing :

1).Humming 5:26

2).Of Embers 5:14

3). Water Rite 7:05

4).  Worm 4:48

5). WidowKeeper 9:43

6). Vulture 6:32

7). The Horrible Chamber 12:05

Bio :

New York’s favorite malignant noise instigators and recent Seven Rule signees, GNAW, will unleash the diseased fruit of their sonic discontent this October. GNAW is the maniacal anti-creation of Alan Dubin (Khanate, Old, O.L.D.), Carter Thornton (Enos Slaughter), Jun Mizumachi (Ike Yard), Brian Beatrice and Eric Neuser. Together they’ve manifested a terrifyingly claustrophobic, seven-track journey of sound where the collective sentiments of fear, trauma, rage and repugnance collide into a cathartic state of brooding, audio disease. Fittingly titled, Horrible Chamber, the follow-up to 2009’s This Face, which Exclaim! proclaimed “noisy, demented and twistedly glorious,” and The Obelisk crowned “extreme, experimental and sonically unpleasant,” was recorded at Seizures Palace by Jason Lefarge (Swans, Akron/Family, Khanate, Angels Of Light), mixed by Brian Beatrice at AudioEngineand mastered by James Plotkin (OLD, Scorn Khanate, Khlyst etc).with additional elements recorded by Beatrice, Dubin, Thornton, and Mizumachi in various chambers.

The Band :

Alan Dubin
Brian Beatrice
Carter Thornton
Eric Neuser
Jun Mizumachi

Review :

I'll be honest, I've had this album in my grubby little hands for a while now without actually being able to fully realise how to accurately convey its existence in words. Gnaw are, as best I can attempt to describe, an experimental doom-noise troupe from New York, featuring within their ranks ex-Khanate vocalist Alan Dubin. Their latest opus of pure terror is the more than appropriately titled 'Horrible Chamber'.

And I'm struggling to review it...

The album begins with 'Humming', an innocent enough illusion. This feeling of innocence is reinforced initially by some simple (yet creepy) piano keys, before it all become clear what the true and vile intentions of this music really are. Ushered in by factory assembly line noise (a bit like that press that crushed the original Terminator), it becomes very disturbing very quickly. And then Dubin opens his mouth, and hell marches forth. His vocals sound like torture tapes, and the lyrics read like excerpts from a padded cell wall featured in a video nasty. It's fucking hard to listen to, man. But in some twisted way it will reward you for your perseverance. It's utterly mystifying. Did I say perseverance? I meant endurance.

'Of Embers' could be praised for its more traditional doom approach, were it not for the fact that it still remains completely horrific. There's no middle ground anywhere here, not even a whiff of fairytale or any kind of happy ending. This ends in a wooden box, every time. EVERY FUCKING TIME. And yet I'm compelled to listen to its hypnotic grimness. Heavy as balls riffs abound. Is there something wrong with me for liking this? This is a serious question, yet like it I certainly do.

'Water Rite' is primarily just a continuous loop of electronic noise. Like a rhythm in the randomness. Like if your kettle could be used to make music. How they manage it, I have no idea. That continuous beat is ritualistic in nature, and could probably be heard echoing through time. Pretty sure it's a warning from the past, most likely translated as "abandon all hope". I really dig this album, but it scares the ever loving shit out of me at the same time.

I'd also like to single out 'Vulture'. Perhaps as 'conventional' as Gnaw are capable of being, it's also maybe one of the heaviest tracks on the entire album, and it all comes down to the rhythm section. As much as the vocals are possibly the star of the show for the most part, here the drums and bass take to the floor like a jackhammer to a skull. Achingly loud and viscerally brutal, the background invades the foreground and stands on your neck. Absolutely incredible effort.

As I mentioned at the start of this quasi-review, or as close as I can get to covering whatever I just subjected myself to for the umpteenth time, I initially struggled to approach any kind of write-up for 'Horrible Chamber'. And that only made me admire it even more. It's well documented within human nature to be drawn in by something that terrifies us. A bit like watching a car wreck. And I suppose that's pretty much what this new Gnaw is - an audio car wreck.

Better buckle up.

Words by : Matt Fitton

You can buy it here

 

 

For more information :
http://www.facebook.com/Gnawtheband
http://www.seventhrule.com

Live Review : Kadavar, Deaf Institute, Manchester, UK, 27th October 2013

With its grand, church-like exterior, Manchester’s Deaf Institute isn’t your most typical of gig venues – it’s even wallpapered. Nevertheless it played host the Germanic doom-meets-psychedelic trio Kadavar and two varying support acts. Each band on the bill tonight, all hailing from different countries and bringing a variety of styles and accents to the intimate stage, makes for interesting viewing. 

With only a small cluster of early arrivals to play to, it was always going to be hard for local band Those Rotten Thieves, with their strong Mancunian accents to tear the house down. Their raw, pink-edged rock n’ roll sound is rough around the edges in an enjoyable way. They lure a few people from the downstairs bar to the front of the stage, but they never quite had a good enough impact to make a lasting impression. They were entertaining but nothing more.  

A hard touring band, South-Wales four-piece Buffalo Summer have built up a respectable following over the past few years as their hard work is beginning to show signs of paying dividends. With a chunky bass tone, Darren King’s rhythmic work helped bolster Jonny Williams’ bouncing, bluesy riffs. But it is in their charismatic frontman, Andrew Hunt, who draws comparisons to a young Robert Plant or a Slash-fronting Myles Kennedy that is the highlight of the set. Early on, he seems a little reserved but as the set progresses he seems to break out from his shell and shows us what he is truly capable of.     It’s a lively, rousing set which will do their ever-growing fan base no harm.  

Ultimately however, Kadavar give a headline performance deserving of a bigger stage and run away with the show. Encompassed by a powerful stage presence, their Deep Purple flavoured jams, generously lathered in wah-guitar, animalistic drums and guttural bass left mouths agape. Each member was a joy to watch, with drummer tiger in particular making his average sized kit sound four times its size. He provided a solid heartbeat to the band all the while unleashing relentless fills left right and centre. As a result, frontman Wolf Lindemann was granted with a huge degree of creative freedom to improvise and flaunt his soulful playing. 

Living In Your Head provided an early highlight, ushering a sing-along from the crowd, but it was later in the set, when they enveloped themselves in grooves as smoky as the venue itself that the killer blows are dealt: Come Back Life and Goddess of Dawn astonish all present. In all, it’s a set that
affirms this band’s status as more than just another rock n’ roll band chasing the same old retro sound. This is the real deal and they’re damn good.       

Words by : Phil Weller

Abra Kadavar is now available to buy from all good stockists now including Nuclear Blast Store.

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Enabler - Flies EP (Review)

Album Type : EP

Date Released : 1/10/2013

Label : The Compound / Earsplit Distro

FLIES, track listing :

1. Switch
2. Flies
3. Meaningless Life
4. Sickened By The Wake
5. Sleep Forever
6. Arise (Sepultura)

The Band :

Jeff Lohrber | Vocals, Guitar, Drums (tracks 1 & 2)
Amanda Daniels | Bass Guitar
Eric Dunn | Lead Guitar
Chris Zugschwert | Drums

Review :

I really enjoyed the last Enabler release, the crazy-good 'Shift of Redemption'. It came at just the right time for me as I was revelling in some great hardcore releases from the past twelve months, of which it wind milled its way considerably to the front row of, and into my heart.

How I managed to make that twee, I'll never fully know.

And so I greet their new EP with open ears and the need to slam, another call to arms that goes by the name of 'Flies'. Opening track 'Switch' is totally addictive, with its hooky lead riff and its thumping low end moments. Entirely instrumental by construction, it serves to whet the appetite just enough to warm you up for what is to come. I'm not over-stuffed, I'm just right.

The track that shares its name with the EP follows in due course and crashes like an extinction level hardcore asteroid. Just what you both want and expect from Enabler. Just over a minute and a half of thrashing HXC goodness, peppered with the odd DM feature riff. Impossible to not rage to, or be moved by.

Same goes for 'Meaningless Life'. Just brutal, vital, fantastic hardcore. Full of bouncing beats and rage-channelled guitars. Not preaching, more like grabbing you by the throat to plead. The breakdown at the end could nullify gravity. Probably.

'Arise' is so fucking heavy it hurts when played loud enough. You should cover the floor with cushions before listening, in preparation for the moment when it might physically knock you on your ass. Soloing in HXC is a no-go 99% of the time, but nothing is simple about Enabler. The rulebook is torn in half in the waste basket. Which is now on fire.

Another great bit of output from Enabler. This piecemeal approach to releasing stuff is great, keeping things short, sweet and satisfying. It works at least for them, and very well indeed. If they continue in this fashion then I cannot see a point in time when I won't get excited for new offerings from this band. And at the end of the day, if Hardcore doesn't excite you, then it ain't being done right is it?

Enabler are continuing to do things right.

Words by : Matt Fitton

You can buy it here

For more information :

http://enablermke.bandcamp.com
http://www.enablermke.blogspot.com
https://www.facebook.com/enablermke
http://www.earsplitcompound.com

Devin Townsend Project - The Retinal Circus (Live Album Review)

 

Album Type : Full Length

Date Released : 30/9/2013

Label : InsideOut Music

The Retinal Circus, album track listing :

1. Effervescent!/True North

2. Lucky Animals
3. Planet of the Apes
4. Truth
5. War
6. Soul Driven
7. Planet Smasher
8. Baby Song
9. Vampolka
10. Vampira
11. Addicted!
12. Colour Your World
13. The Greys
14. Hyperdrive
15. Ih-Ah!
16. Where We Belong
17. Detox
18. Bend it Like Bender!
19. Life
20. Kingdom
21. Juular
22. Love?
23. Colonial Boy
24. Grace
25. Little Pig

The Band :

Devin Townsend  | (guitars , vocals, keyboards)

Anneke Van Giersbergen | (vocals)
Ryan Van Poederooyen  | (drums)
Mike Young | (bass)
Dave Young | (Guitars)

Review :

Devin Townsend.  No longer really a name, more a verb.  A doing word.  As in: “I’m gonna Devin Townsend your stereo!” to which you’ll rightly respond “Fuck yeah!” 

Few metal acts can really match up to what Devin Townsend and his maniacal Project are bringing to the world.  For starters, he’s a prolific writer: from his work with Strapping Young Lad to his eponymous Project, he’s got over 20 studio and live albums under his belt.  Plus he’s weird as all hell: this is the mind that dreamt up Ziltoid the Omniscient, after all.  And as for his live shows?  They’re a full-on spectacle of rock ‘n’ roll excess and vibrantly crazy spectacle. 

And here’s where ‘Retinal Circus’ comes in.  This is the latest release from the massive-headed one, and it’s a live show of truly staggering proportions.  Want spectacle?  You got it: in the many forms of dancing girls, fire, choirs, furries, pantomime, Ziltoid himself making an appearance and so much more besides.  Want music?  Buddy, you are in for a treat. 

Live albums have such a different energy to studio albums: there’s that vibe from the crowd that really gives the groove an extra tint, an extra colour that turns regular songs into blistering anthems.  As soon as you hear Steve Vai introducing the beautiful craziness, you know that something truly off the wall is going to happen.  Then ‘Effervescent/True North’ kicks in like a sonic space mule and you’re thrown bodily into the shifting, twisting miasma of metal exploration. 

What follows is very nearly two hours of metal pomp and ceremony, eclipsing the bravado of Queen, dominating the weirdness of Frank Zappa and, dare I say it, even making Steve Vai’s own shows pale in comparison.  Devin Townsend is certainly a man with a rich mental mind of creativity.  It seems like every time he goes digging in it, he hits upon a rich vein of unique imagery and musical ideas.  And boy, does he know how to turn those raw materials into polished gems.  ‘Lucky Animals’ (my personal favourite track from ‘Epicloud’) is made to sound like a rock opera made to make God’s head bob in time with the music. 

In fact, just about any of the 25 tracks on this double-disc set can be enough to turn the most casual of Townsend listeners into avid fans.  Like weird?  Ziltoid’s own song ‘Planet Smasher’ is a sci-fi B-Movie epic from the ‘50s, thrown half a century into the future and given a shot of the blackest coffee known to existence.  Like down-and-dirty rock excess?  ‘Bend it Like Bender!’ is the sleazy, sneering stud for you.  Like music?  Love Devin Townsend. 

From its delightful opening to its muted, emotion-laden closing ditty ‘Little Pig’ (a homage to Pink Floyd if ever I heard one), ‘Retinal Circus’ is a smorgasbord for the metal connoisseur.  No matter your taste, no matter your musical background, you will love this live album.  There’s just so much to choose from, and then, when you’re done, so much more to find out when you begin to delve into Townsend’s extensive back-catalogue.  Townsend your stereo and prepare all your senses for a sci-fi metal odyssey unlike any other: engage! 

Words by : Chris Markwell

You can buy it here

For more information :

www.hevydevy.com

http://www.facebook.com/dvntownsend
www.twitter.com/dvntownsend

Cult Of Luna - Vertikal II (Review)

 

Album Type : EP

Date Released : 20/9/2013

Label : Indie Recording

VERTIKAL II, track listing :

1. Oro

2. Light Chaser

3. Shun The Mask

4. Vicarious Redemption (Remix by Justin K. Broadrick)

The Band

Johannes Persson | Guitars and Vocals

Magnus Lindberg | Drums and Studio-Engineering

Erik Olofsson | Guitars
Andreas Johansson | Bass

Anders Teglund | Keyboards and Electronics

Fredrik Kihlberg | Guitars and Vocals
Thomas Hedlund | Drums and Percussion

Review :

So here we are people, what you've all been waiting for. That's right - the long awaited sequel to my Cult Of Luna review from earlier this year! You lucky, lucky bastards. Also, there is a sequel out to the last Cult Of Luna record, called 'Vertikal II' (son of Vertikal? I kid). A companion piece EP that sounds just wonderful.
 

'Oro' is of a somewhat similar vein to 'The One' from the previous outing, electronically tinged beats echo in and out of existence and conjure up the feeling of future, or space. This new track is guitar driven though, beautiful and elegant, laced with some lighter than air vox. It's heart warming stuff, and it'll melt your worries. Classic COL, the power to move you.
 

'Light Chaser' is also quite elegant in structure, and will easily capture your imagination. It's a very spirited track, the serenity of the guitar is balanced by the mid-range beat, and the other side of the dark / light equation is countered by the growled vocals. Post-whatever you want, truth is it works, and that's why people love the genre. More importantly, that's why they love the soaring compositions of Cult Of Luna.
 

Merit badge goes to one of my heroes (new Jesu rules!), Mr. Justin K. Broadrick for his blissful remix of the original Vertikal's 'Vicarious Redemption', featured here in a closing position at the very end of the EP. Not to take anything away from Luna, because they obviously created the originally stunning source material. But Justin weaves his magic touch to the fullest of it's extent here, with gorgeous keys and lo-fi soul searching. And when it does get heavy, it still remains an other-worldly experience. Truly exceptional.
 

All in all, 'Vertikal II' is by no means some unsavoury cash-in. Fully capable of standing not only proudly on it's own as an independent release, it also fits perfectly with the themes and the soundscapes constructed within it's predecessor cousin. If you're a fan of the original, don't hesitate to snap this up straight away.
 

Words by : Matt Fitton

 

 

You can buy it here

 

For more information :

http://cultofluna.com/

https://www.facebook.com/cultoflunamusic

Sepultura - The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be The Heart (Album Review)

 

 

Album Type : Full Length

Date Released : 25.10.2013

Label : Nuclear Blast

The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be The Heart, track listing :

1. Trauma Of War 3:45

2. The Vatican 6:33

3. Impending Doom 4:15

4. Manipulation Of Tragedy 4:16

5. Tsunami 5:10

6. The Bliss Of Ignorants 4:51

7. Grief 5:34

8. The Age Of The Atheist 4:19

9. Obsessed 3:53

10. Da Lama Ao Caos 4:28

The Band :

Derrick Green | Lead Vocals
Andreas Kisser | Guitars
Paulo Jr. | Bass
Eloy Casagrande | Drums  

Review :

Sepultura either ceased to exist in 1997 or evolved into a very different but no less excellent band, depending on your viewpoint. For me, it took a couple of albums but with Roorback Derrick Green established himself as front man of high calibre. Sepultura don't make albums like Arise any more, but then again they stopped doing that with... Arise, in 1991. They have been evolving ever since and putting out high quality and thoughtfully left field releases (Roorback, Dante XXI, A-Lex, Kairos) for a decade.

Down to business: the new one (ridiculously lengthy title aside) is more straightforward than Dante but more progressive than, say, Kairos. The record, inspired by the 1927 film “Metropolis”, explores the consequences of the mechanisation of society/human beings. It is not a concept record exactly, but it explores a unifying theme. Perhaps to go along with this, the record was recorded onto tape- hiss and all- with no click tracks, no computer trickery etc. What you hear is what the band play- and they play phenomenally well. Check out the performance of Eloy Casagrande on drums- he is the Seps' third drummer and stamps his personality all over the record. At 22 he is an incredible talent- blessed with technical ability and feel. Insane.

Trauma of War answers the opening bell with fury and precision. The beautiful intro to The Vatican gives way to a masterful piece of metal and is followed swiftly by Impending Doom, which explores slower tempos and allows the production to really shine. Even on a fairly low quality stereo you can hear everything; bass, guitar, drums, percussion and vocals all have room in the mix.  Producer Ross Robinson, he of Roots and other much worse metal albums fame, returns and does a sterling job. Seps regular Steve Evetts mixes and comes up with a brilliantly balanced and unique sound. Andreas Kisser has a unique tone- murky yet precise in approach- and it is captured very well here.

Manipulation of Tragedy features an incredible drum track and excellent riffing- almost death metal but at slow tempos (think early 90's Morbid Angel) while Derrick Green turns in a throat shredding performance. Tsunami muses on the power and force of nature while utilising razor sharp riffing and frenetic rhythms. Classic latter day Sepultura is summed up well here- power with thought put behind it. The Bliss of Ignorants opens with Latin rhythms and percussive sounds before bringing light and shade in equal measure; the album becomes quirky with this track. Paulo Xisto locks down the bottom end effectively here, as he has done for nearly thirty years, and the album moves into its second half.

Grief opens with a very maudlin guitar and offers a bridge into the albums last three tracks by way of short verses and extremely sombre sentiments. Truly unusual in Sepultura's catalogue this track is a fine example of the band spreading its wings to good effect. The Age of The Atheist was the taster track that the band put out ahead of the album release and as such represents the more accessible side of the record. It is heavy, rhythmically adventurous and full of Sepultura-isms. Disjointed verse sections are replaced by a head nodding rhythm as Green exhorts us to consider “No gods! No leaders!” The track heats up and double bass drums are brutalised, grooves locked into and any doubts regarding the new line-up are further dispelled. 

Obsessed contains a guest spot from Dave Lombardo who contributes a dual (duel?!) drum track with Casagrande. Excellent stuff and a real percussive treat for those out there interested in such things. Da Lama Ao Caos finishes the record. From what I know, this is a track by Brazilian artist Chico Science- who is by reputation quintessentially Brazilian. As such, there is a kind of tribal/hip hop flavour to the track (kisser does the lead vocals here- in Portuguese) as the groove takes a front seat and heads nod along. An interesting and satisfying way to end an album of concise length- it is both direct and winding by turn, hangs together as an album perfectly and makes a virtue of the breadth and depth of musical approaches that Sepultura have covered over the course of their career.

Sepultura will never be a straight forward thrash band again (and haven't been in over twenty years, or ever; depending on how you view the death elements of their early sound). Good for them, I say, as they continue to make interesting and adventurous metal, full of great concepts, riffs, vocals and rhythms.

Sepultura originally made such an impact, in part, due to their third world provenance and very different background to other successful thrash acts. One imagines that growing up in the favellas is no picnic (to say the least) and thus people were interested in what the band had to say.  Kisser resides in Sao Paulo- the largest city in the southern hemisphere- and that sprawling metropolis and all it contains must inform the way the band write and approach their craft. For those of you who won’t give them a chance after Roots, Chaos AD or even Arise: you are making a mistake. Yes, they are a different band now; but by making albums of such high quality as this one they continue to be a relevant and creative musical force. There are not many metal bands who have been around as long who can claim as much. A superb album.

Words by : Richard Maw

You can buy it here
 

 

 

For more information :

www.facebook.com/sepultura
http://sepultura.uol.com.br/

www.nuclearblast.de/sepultura