Panopticon - The End is Growing Near

#PER CHI AMA: Black/Folk

Dopo il 'Live in Belgium' ed in attesa di ascoltare qualcosa di nuovo, il buon Austin Lunn ha riesumato un paio di pezzi che aveva scritto nel biennio 2008-2010, all'epoca dell'uscita di 'Collapse'. Proprio in linea con la furia di quel disco, i due nuovi vecchi brani dei Panopticon si muovono tra ritmiche sparatissime, urla feroci e melodie votate sempre ad un caotico ma efficace black dalle vaghe tinte folkloriche. Si parte con la lunga e tortuosa "Haunted America II", song incentrata sul tema della persecuzione degli indigeni d'America da parte dei coloni inglesi e che si muove su frenetiche ritmiche black contrappuntate dalle grim vocals del factotum statunitense, e tra disarmoniche porzioni di chitarra che raramente ho trovato nella discografia del musicista originario del Kentucky. Il primo pezzo sembra un lungo racconto che avrà modo di toccare apici compositivi davvero interessanti per poi chiudersi con delle spoken words che ci introdurranno all'altrettanto suggestiva title track, il cui tema è legato alla crisi climatica e alla degradazione dell'ambiente, e che nasconde nella sua ritmica una spettrale melodia che ne stempera la brutalità palesata nel martellante incedere di batteria e chitarre. Saranno anche due brani di oltre 12 anni fa, ma la qualità dei Panopticon non si discute minimamente, anzi trovo questi due pezzi molto migliori di alcune delle ultime release del polistrumentista americano. Bella trovata. (Francesco Scarci)

(Bindrune Recordings - 2022)
Voto: 75

https://thetruepanopticon.bandcamp.com/album/the-end-is-growing-near 

Nechochwen - Kanawha Black

#FOR FANS OF: Black/Dark/Death

West Virginia-based duo Nechochwen returns with the long-awaited album as its predecessor saw the light of the day seven years ago. It’s a lot of time, though the band remained active, releasing a couple of splits and some other stuff. But as you know, a long length is always the best indicator of how a project is evolving and I was curious to see what Nechochwen could offer with this new opus, titled 'Kanawha Black'. The new work has been released again by Bindrune Recording and Nordvis, which is always a sign of confidence in what a project has composed. Founded back in 2005 Nechochwen has fused black metal with some folk and neofolk influences, and lyrically they have been strongly influenced by the Appalachian lands. Their interest in the Native American traditions is always a plus for me, so it is undeniable that this project is trying to create something personal.

'Kanawha Black' is a quite different album, particularly in terms of pace and general tone that the band tried to give to each song, aiming at creating pieces with a distinctive touch. The album is opened by the vigorous and powerful song "Kanawha Black". It’s a straightforward song with an excellent work in the guitars and a fast pace, that in any case has its ups and downs that make it very entertaining. The main aggressive vocals are combined with some clean ones, which makes a strong contrast with the first ones, I personally prefer the aggressive ones in this case, but I guess it’s a matter of feeling as they clean vocals are well executed and have nothing particularly negative to mention. The aforementioned neofolk and folk influences appear more clearly in the next songs, for example "The Murky Deep" and "I Can Die but Once", with these characteristic acoustic guitars. As it is typical in this genre, its influence gives a much more melancholic touch to the songs. The pace is also slower, and the songs have in general a sombre tone. This dark touch and slower pace reach its momentum with the song "A Cure for the Winter Plagues". This is for sure, the most different song as it is particularly slow and dark. I even describe it as a doom/death song, especially due to the main vocals with their deeper tone and the trademark growls of the death metal genre. The background vocals and arrangements give a quite ethereal touch to this composition, even though it remains to be a quite dark song. From this point the album clearly speeds up with faster songs more similar to the album opener. "Visions, Dreams, and Sings" is maybe my favourite track of this second half and one of the highlights of the whole album. It is a punch in your face thanks to its aggressive vocals and faster pace. The guitar work is again excellent, and the riffing remains in your mind after the end of the track. Being a faster song doesn’t mean that it’s a monotonous one, none of that, mid-temp and slower sections can be found too, and the acoustic guitars make its appearance to enrich the track. The last two songs have similar patterns as they intelligently combine some of the heaviest sections with the acoustic and darker ones, making them a merry-go-round of intensity with their changes of pace and tone. Vocally, the effort to include some variety is also there. Not only with the combination of aggressive and clean vocals, but also mixing black metal and death metal influenced voices, which are appropriately placed in the different songs.

In general terms, 'Kanawha Black' is a quite good album. It seems clear to me that there is a decent amount of work behind these compositions. The duo really tries to make songs with a particular tone and sound, mixing different influences and introducing arrangements to enrich them. (Alain González Artola)

(Bindrune Recordings - 2022)
Score: 78

https://bindrunerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/kanawha-black

Tvaer - Uvaer

#FOR FANS OF: Black Metal

Tvaer is a quite new project founded four years ago in Minnesota, USA. It is currently a four-piece band, that just suffered a sole change in its short career. It seems to be composed by novel musicians as they don't have previous known projects, with the exception of the drummer. In these less than four years of existence, the project has been quite active releasing several demos and even a live album. Thanks to this activity and to a reasonably good potential, they have managed to release the debut album with the reputed underground label Bindrune Recordings, which is always a good sign.

'Uvaer' is the name of Tvaer’s debut and it is a ferocious declaration of black metal with a subtle atmospheric touch. Unlike other bands tagged as atmospheric black metal, Tvaer focuses much more on building a smashing wall of guitars, rather than creating intensively atmospheric compositions. This first opus consists of five tracks, where speed and aggression are occasionally accompanied by calmer moments which enrich the compositions. Even if Tvaer`s compositions have an aggressive nature, the expected atmospheric side of its music is still present, but with a subdued tone and in a form of more melodic guitar lines as it happens in tracks like "II", with the main riff that has an undeniable melodic tone. This second track and the following ones are fine examples of Tvaer’s strongest points, as guitar lines are excellently composed, with plenty of quite solid riffs varying from the more melodic ones to the more straightforwardly aggressive ones. In these tracks we can appreciate how the band varies its tempo adding some slower sections to the more common intensively fast ones. Another quite used resource in the album is to abruptly break the song in order to introduce some acoustic accords, that serve as momentary calm before the fury returns, also suddenly. These ingredients basically conform what Tvaer offers in this album, if we leave apart the much calmer closing track "V", and I must admit they are successively mixed and executed, although I miss a greater room for variation in the compositions as one could listen to these songs as a sole track, without noticing great changes. I think the band should make an extra effort adding more arrangements which could make easier to create more varied songs. This is the only great problem as riff-wise the performance is faultless and the rhythmic base sounds quite solid. Vocally, the work done by A.C is convincing with quite high-pitched screams, and even DSBM influenced desperate shrieks. He does also a nice job adding some clean vocals as a form of a background ghostly choir, which gives a nice atmospheric touch to a song like the remarkably inspired track "IV".

'Uvaer' is undoubtedly a quite solid beginning by Tvaer as it clearly has some strong points and overall a good work compositionally. As it usually happens with debut albums, the band needs to give a step forward in terms of variety, if it wants to create memorable pieces. The aforementioned "IV" is probably the best one in this aspect and should serve a good example for future releases. (Alain González Artola)

(Bindrune Recordings - 2021)
Score: 72

https://bindrunerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/uvaer 

Eave - Phantoms Made Permanent

#FOR FANS OF: Atmospheric Black Metal

Founded only four years ago, the Portland based band Eave is a project consisting of four members, with not known previous experience in the extreme metal scene. Nevertheless, the band was able to release a solid debut entitled ‘Purge’, which received positive reviews, although it was discovered be only for a few fans. Anyway, with this decent debut, plus a reasonably quite active career, having been released a split and a previous EP, the guys caught the attention of the respected American label Bindrune Recordings, which usually has quite interesting bands on its roster.

Reinforced by this new deal, Eave has recently released its sophomore effort called ‘Phantoms Made Permanent’. This albums follows the trend of combining a depressive oriented black metal with some post metal influences, in a way that we have seen previously with other bands, not a few of them also coming from USA, where it seems that this kind of mixture has some success in the underground scene. With regards to the production, the album has quite raw sound, trying to avoid those ultra-clean productions that some post influenced albums have nowadays. The band tries to remain inside what it can be considered a rough sound, which plays a key role for the band members, when they want to create a hypnotic atmosphere. The vocals are the expected shrieks, classically mixed in order to make they sound like a distant echo, a very typical characteristic in the black metal scene. The pace varies between slow and fasters parts in a very natural way, making the songs quite diverse in this aspect. The structures have a clear contrast between the typically black metal sections and the post influences parts, which usually come in the form of more acoustic oriented compositions, like acoustic guitars or electric ones with a more tranquil tone, with the typical hypnotic chords that are very common in the post black metal genre. The album opener "A Godless Frame" is a clear example of this, with these variations in the pace and intensity, as the track navigates from the straight forward black metal sections with furious screams, fast drums and tremolo guitars, to acoustic sections with some calmer guitars and a very slow pace. Another fine example is "Mana Descending", with an atmospheric intro made by those strongly post-metal influenced guitars, which is abruptly broken by an aggressive black metal section. The calmest sections have the aforementioned post metal influence with a somber and more melancholic feeling, though it doesn´t reach that desperate tone of the pure depressive black metal bands. The ferocity, like the mournful parts, are combined in a very moderate dose, not reaching the strength a typical black metal nor the pure depression of the DSBM bands but creating a gloomy atmosphere which fits the music.

All in all, ‘Phantoms Made Permanent’ is a solid effort by Eave, which will please the fans of this genre, though it doesn´t reach the level of a superb album, which could make them lead the scene. This is, anyway, a good step forward and the band should continue working in the pursuit of excellence. (Alain González Artola)

(Bindrune Recordings - 2020)
Score: 70

https://bindrunerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/phantoms-made-permanent

Obsidian Tongue - Volume III

#FOR FANS OF: Atmospheric Black Metal

Founded ten years ago in the US, Obsidian Tongue was initially one of those common one-man black metal bands, whose only member was the founder Brendan Hayter, currently involved also in other projects, all of them related to the extreme metal scene. The most notorious one is the excellent Canadian band Thrawsunblat, a folk infused melodic black metal ensemble, which is a quite interesting project. Going back to Obsidian Tongue, the project rapidly became a two-man band with the incorporation of a drummer. With an established line-up, the duo debuted with a decent first album, which was rapidly improved by the subsequent works, like the sophomore ‘A Nest of Ravens in the Throat of Time’ or the split ‘Northeastern Hymns’. This improvement caught the attention of the quite respected label Bindrune Recordings, which took the decision of releasing the Obsidian Tongue´s future works.

2020 will be the year when Obsidian Tongue’s new work will see the light of the day. The new opus is entitled ‘Volume III’ and, as it happens with the third album, this work should confirm whether the band has or not a promising future. Obsidian Tongue plays a guitar based atmospheric black metal with some quiet and intimate interludes, creating an interesting contrast with the most aggressive sections. For instance, the album opener "Anathk" is a pretty clear example of what the band can offer. This track, being the longest one, has indeed enough room to flow quite naturally between the blackest metal parts, with the expected aggressive vocals, being sometimes accompanied by some clean melancholic vocals, and the calmest sections. Those calmer sections have an introspective nature and they are like a bridge between the black metalesque sections. I find these serene sections quite interesting as they are tastefully done with very nice melodies. As for the guitars in the typically black metal parts, they are clearly less melodic as they fluctuate between more dissonant and aggressive chords and a trance inducing riffs, which I think are the most interesting ones. This contrast is clearly perceived in shorter songs like "Poison Greem Dream", which delivers both sorts of riffage. Furthermore, these songs, though being shorter, have also room for the aforementioned clean vocals, which at first didn´t like that much, but which I dig more as I listen to the album more times. Although musically speaking long songs like the album opener or "Empath" let the band introduce more serene and hypnotic parts, which is always nice, the shorter compositions have also interesting elements. Their immediacy and straightforward strength is always a necessary element to create a balanced album.

In conclusion, ‘Volume III’ is a good album and though I couldn´t consider it a groundbreaking record, it has enough interesting elements and quality in the compositions, to make it interesting. Any fan of atmospheric black metal or this sort of modern black metal made in the US will find absorbing elements in this record, which will make them enjoy the album. (Alain González Artola)

(Bindrune Recordings - 2020)
Score: 75

https://www.facebook.com/obsidiantongueband/

The Glorious Dead - The Glorious Dead Imperator of the Desiccated

#PER CHI AMA: Brutal Death

Un po' di insano marciume dagli States con questo 7" targato Glorious Dead: due i brani per quello che sembra essere un side project del quartetto formato tra gli altri da J. Humlinski (Feast Eternal) e M. Rytkonen (Prosthesis, Slaunchwise, Charnel Valley, Bindrune Recordings), che ci propinano due marcescenti pezzi di death metal che affondano le proprie radici nei gloriosi anni '80-90. "Mangled Cerebration" apre le danze con la sua inaudita ferocia che però assai poco ha da chiedere e soprattutto da dare. "Celebrate the Corpse" invece chiude le danze dopo soli nove minuti con un mid-tempo (peraltro mal registrato in sede live) che guarda al doom nella sua prima metà, per poi divampare in un brutal death piatto e senza mordente. Solo per amanti di simili sonorità. (Francesco Scarci)

Voto: 55

A two track demo of downright dirty death metal released on seven inch vinyl as well as in a digital format, 'Imperator of the Dessicated' hearkens to the early improvisational days of the subgenre where viscous imposing guitar tones overrode harsh and disparate harmonies, production was awash with reverb, decaying melody always found itself forced through a blender of atonality, and trading demos as basic and sparse as this kept the medium alive. From such a clearly crafted first impression, it's no wonder that The Glorious Dead hopes to evoke that raw early death metal sound and shapes it with flying tremolos, bassy production, and squealing guitar solos that make “Mangled Celebration” as seemingly chaotic as it is emulating the style from a retrospective perspective. The second single on this EP, “Celebrate the Corpse” starts at a crawl that sounds more like it was recorded at a backyard party than at a proper venue. Through audible crowd noise that even the blast beats can't drown out, The Glorious Dead holds its sound down well in a live setting with merely production is holding the band back, but what the outfit needs now is to elaborate on its start and show some authentic and one-of-a-kind personality in its music. As redundant as these two track titles are, the clear breadth between both gives this short EP some semblance of personality to this bare bones release. Though The Glorious Dead makes little of a name for itself on this short seven inch, the band gives some insight into a foundation from which it could build if the band wanted to attempt something elaborate. (Five_Nails)

(Bindrune Recordings - 2019)

Score: 50

https://wearethegloriousdead.bandcamp.com/album/imperator-of-the-desiccated

Paths - In Lands Thought Lost

#FOR FANS OF: Black/Ambient

From the rich Canadian underground, Paths returns with its third effort entitled 'In Lands Thought Lost'. This is a solo project founded by Michael Taylor in 2013. As far as I know, this is Michael´s first fully metal project as his other projects like the extinct Heaven Was Beautiful Then, and his current side project, Teeth of the Wolf, are much more acoustic and ambient. In fact, Paths was initially a black metal project with many different influences and a weird touch, which has evolved to a more ambient black metal sound. This evolution happened in only 3-4 years, where Michael has kept an interesting rate of releases, recording several demos and the aforementioned three albums.

Now, only five years after the band´s inception, Paths seems to have achieved a state of maturity and consolidation of the current sound. This might lead the band to be more known in the scene, especially if we take into account that 'In Lands Thought Lost' has been released by the excellent label Bindrune Recordings. The new opus consists of five long tracks, where it is clear that Paths has now a quite distinctive ambient black metal touch. The tracks have in general a quite ferocious tone, where the guitars play a major role, the occasional synths increase this sense of atmosphere in certain parts, like it happens in the second track “To Brave the Storm”. Anyway, the use of the synthesizer is increased through the album, making certain tracks with a stronger atmospheric touch. Pace wise, the album has unsurprisingly a good amount of fast sections, but Michael manages to vary the pace enough to compose interesting songs maintaing a high interest. Thanks to this approach, the songs flow from fast to mid-pace and slow sections in a very natural way. Moreover, apart from the mentioned keys, he introduces more acoustic and ambient sections, like those contained in the second half of “Creaking Boughs”, where he even sings with a clean voice, just only like a single man choir. The last part has also a combination of excellent guitar melodies with a slightly more prominent synthesizer. This may be one of the most interesting compositions of this album. I would like to remark Michael´s excellent job with the guitars, both at riff level and especially with certain solos, which are quite emotional and with a melancholic touch; one of my favourites is that you can listen to in “The Everbright Land”. The album closes with “South Ever South”, the longest track of 'In Lands Thoughts Lost' that summarizes all the features here contained. It has a slower start with synthesizers whose melody is very similar to the one listened to in the previous song. This is not really a problem as I love how it increases the sense of solemnity. This is clearly the most solemn and epic track of the cd, with occasionally faster sections but a mainly slow-mid tempo. These calmer parts help Paths to have a greater room to create a hypnotic and beautiful composition. This is undoubtedly an excellent closing to the album and a composition I personally like to listen to over and over again.

In conclusion, Path has released an excellent third work where it seems to be very comfortable within the atmospheric black metal genre. Its mastermind Michael has composed excellent tracks, where guitars play a prominent role with very good melodies and a wide range of variety. The keys and other tweaks enrich the compositions and make the album even better. Very recommendable. (Alain González Artola)

(Bindrune Recordings - 2018)
Score: 83

https://bindrunerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/in-lands-thought-lost