As it's been ages since I updated this goshawful piss hole of a blog, what better time to do so than now? "How about six months ago, y'bastard?" you'll say, and you'd be right!
Anyway, here's some of the good shit I've been listening to this week on Bandcamp, PR mailing lists and YouTube. All come heartily recommeneded:
###
"Beautiful Distraction"
Church Recordings
What is it like being a four-man metal foundry? This is a question only California's very own trad metal titans Haunt can perhaps answer, not least because they keep putting out albums with wild abandon.
This new record, "Beautiful Distraction", comes out just a year after Haunt's last two releases, the superlative "Mind Freeze" in early 2020, and "Triumph" a few months later.
Does this mean Trever Church and his squad are burning themselves out? Not if this album is anything to go by. Expect yet more superb, rousing trad metal anthems that are accessible, but never dumbed down to the lowest common denominator. Glory in the stunning riffs and chords, and even the keyboards! It seems almost greedy to get this much good metal from one band in such a short space of time, but that rather misses the point.
Perhaps some day, Haunt will put out an album that will make the fans cry, and not tears of joy. Until then, be sure to revel in this most satisfying of heavy metal winning streaks.
SHEEPSCORE: Distractingly Beautiful (4.5 out of 5)
Available now on Church Recordings and Bandcamp.
###
"Terracide"
Grazil
Sometimes the best black metal just pounces out at you from nowhere, and such is the case with Plaguepreacher, a happy band of campers from Austria. Its debut, the five track EP "Terracide", is full of cold rage, nihilism and cuddles. And, oddly enough, a bit of cowbell.
Were that it, this would be a short review. But Plaguepreacher manages to do it all with such style, and with the skill required to make each song stand out with hooks and polish, that the end result is much more than you might expect. It's proper black metal, but it's FUN!
It is, then, a collection of songs that really want you to die, but are weirdly life-affirming in their catchiness, and horribly addictive to boot. One tip though - buy CDs directly from the Grazil site rather than BandCamp, so you don't get mugged by 'shipping fees'.
SHEEPPOINTS: Terracidely Good (4.25 out of 5)
Available now on Grazil and Bandcamp.
###
EVIL
"Possessed By Evil"
Nuclear War Now!
As something of a total weeb, I was well in when Japanese blackened thrashers, Evil, released their new album last week. 'Evil' was, of course, the original name of spandex n' spikes black metal pioneers, Sabbat, so you might hear a family resembalance. But then, Lemmy, Cronos and Phil Lynott would feel at home here too, as do I...
It all bounds along with spite, hate and a gloriously grimy rock 'n roll vibe, glorious chords and hooks laying waste all before them, before blowing us all away with album closer, "Evil Way of Live" (sic), an utterly amazing, popping tune that hits a perfect groove and proceeds to hit us with it, repeatedly.
In that sense, the song is the album writ large, as it rocks throughout, sans mercy, sans apology.
SHEEPPOINTS Possessed By WIN (4.5 out of 5)
Available now on Nuclear War Now! and Bandcamp.
###
IRON MAN
"Hail To The Riff"
Argonauta Records
Few were as blessed with skill in the guitar as Alfred Morris III. In fact, that is an understatement. He could do things with a guitar that shouldn't have been legal. Thick, sludgy, gorgeous doom metal riffs you could drown a hippo in. Grooves that could slay bears. Hooks that threatened to crush you and woo you into bed, all at the same time.
Calling this sort of magic 'dirty', as some have done in the past is a disservice. This level of doom could never be dirty. It was as heavy as copper and killed most Covid-19 strains at twenty paces. It was blues and dark psychedlia as artillery strike. Listen to an AM3 riff and you'll hear one of the defining sounds of doom metal, up there with the warble and the Aeolian Mode.
Sadly, the world could never forgive him for this, so turned on the shit throwers full blast, keeping him in relative obscurity for most of his life until an untimely death in 2018. "Hail To The Riff" is a 2013 live recording from the brief moment of recognition that AM3 and his band, Iron Man, received in the last decade or so, culminating in a definitive line-up and vocalist, in the form of Dee Calhoun. It is also a recording of the band's first and only gig in Italy, a sort of distallation of everything that was and could have been.
As a tribute, it is excellent in some ways, and frustrating in others. AM3's guitarmanship is on display throughout, and the live performance overall is wonderful. That said, fans might wonder why some songs are included, while others (such as "Iron Warrior") were left out. (And don't lie about not wanting to hear Calhoun sing that one.) The mix is also uneven, lending too much echo to the band, and not enough to the audience.
Still, as a document of the band in its prime, and with a final unreleased track - "Black Morning" - thrown in at the end, it does a great job. And if you couldn't shower AM3 with praise when he was still amongst us, the least you can do is do it now...
SHEEPPOINTS Hail To The King (4 out of 5)
Available now on Argonauta. Thanks to All Noir PR for the review copy.
###
AND THE REST: Apparently, Red Fang and Cirith Ungol have new songs out. You may of heard of them. Great bunch of lads.
No comments:
Post a Comment