Tongues - Hreilia

#FOR FANS OF: Black/Death, Necrophobic

A special talent is needed just to play death metal, while talent, skills and technique to play good death metal; passion, intelligence and a singular taste for darkness are necessary to craft the black metal arts; elegance, melancholy and sophistication are essential to creating doom metal. However, to mix the three of them and succeed gloriously is a task just true legends have achieved. The trinity of extreme metal captured musically is not just ambitious, but arrogant, and if it fails, the fall is endless and terrible. Most bands that have tried this fusion haven’t overcome the expectations and demands of their own music. In my knowledge there is only one band that has risen over the corpses of the others and prevails to reclaim the throne of this unique combination, being this band the British monster Abyssal with three outstanding full-lengths in their repertory. But now, I’m pleased to say that there is another band rising to this moorland: Tongues.

'Hreilia' is the debut album of the Danish black/death/doom metal band Tongues. It opens with the subtle sound of the water reaching a shore, a shore filled with corpses depicting the splendid cover art, and then a guitar plays an enigmatic — almost cosmic — melody, slow drums in the background, a mysterious voice talks of forgotten ages, while the pace and melody evolves creating anxiety along with chants, suddenly it stops, a new guitar tune appears bringing with its speed, percussions become stronger, unexpected a horrific scream of a tormented soul burst into chaos. Blasting and magnanimous metal is presented to us in a rich, complex and strong combination of ideas, riffs and violence. Tongues plays its music with passion and strength, the compositions are compound and full of surprising changes, besides an atmosphere of evil and darkness is present all the time.

From the very beginning the album sounds like a classic, I can’t believe this full-length is released in 2017, it is out of this age, to me it is in the vein of legendary bands such as The Legion, Lord Belial or Necrophobic. The production and mastering sound like an album from the golden age of Swedish black/death metal. The second song, “Theophagous Wounds Of Earth”, starts with this bombastic bass line that inevitably reminded me of the forgotten mythical band Blot Mine and their first record 'Porphyrogenesis', sharing this kind of cosmic elements in the music with Tongues debut album and the solid presence of the bass guitar. This Danish band has not only accomplished mix the genres superbly but also has accomplished recreate the sound of the golden age of metal.

As aggressive as it can get, as violent or fast, 'Hreilia' is a pessimistic album, I wouldn’t call it melancholic or depressive because it is not, due to the nature of its music, it never gets lost in the melancholy of a passage or riff to lose its death metal core, it never slows down to sadness so much to lose its black metal touch and give way to a depressive structure. Meditation is suggested but barely present, contrary of a doom metal anthem. And this last line leads me to the music combination, and I have to say that black and death metal are the dominant forces of this band, doom metal is never in the lead, but always present, either in the guitar tuning or the slower moments, but never in the main path.

Tongues debut is impressive and crushing. One aspect I have to mention, is the outstanding vocal performance, it sounds so natural and faithful to the music that it seems to be another music element. The guitar work is glorious, and besides the three main genres this band claims to play, you can find trash metal and more classical metal influences in the form of guitar solos or catchy riffs.

The lyrics are dark and enigmatic; they talk of epic and cosmic tales. My favorite song of the album is “Grove Of Mithridate” which starts with an evil riff, almost psychedelic, it feels cursed and devastating at the same time, it has a tragic feeling that the music communicates perfectly, it’s aggressive and brutal, yet decaying and miserable. But the best song of the record is the longest as well: “Acumen Numinous” every good thing Tongues does in the previous songs is present here, but this song has a different structure and notorious progression, the guitar solo is superb and the drum performance is formidable. Close the half of the song we get this change of rhythm and a confusing guitar line resembling chaos — the end is near — and a colossal ambience is presented to us with solid guitars and chants in the background, is cosmic and delusional.

'Hreilia' is a mastodon of a debut, probably will become a classic in the future, and I can only wait to see what this band is going to release in the years to come. A must listen to fans of black metal, death metal and metalheads in general. (Alejandro 'Morgoth' Valenzuela)

(I, Voidhanger - 2017)
Score: 80

https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/hreilia

This is not a Brothel - Far is Here

#PER CHI AMA: Stoner/Indie/Alternative Rock, A Perfect Circle

Tornano i This is not a Brothel, band di origine campana, con tutti i componenti sparsi in realtà in giro per Italia ed Europa. Li avevamo già conosciuti in occasione del loro debut album sia con un'intervista in studio che attraverso la recensione di quella release. Ora, i cinque musicisti casertani ci presentano la loro ultima fatica, un prodotto sicuramente competitivo da un punto di vista economico, visto che offre vinile e cd ad un costo risicato, ed una proposta musicale che prosegue il percorso musicale intrapreso nell'album omonimo. 'Far is Here' esce questa volta per la I Make Records e si presenta come un disco che richiama, sin dalle note iniziali, un certo alternative/stoner, che rimanda indistintamente alle scuole alternative americana e svedese, ma che da un punto di vista vocale, mi suggerisce invece un che degli Editors. Poco però i This is not a Brothel hanno a che fare con la band britannica; in "Black Madonna", sono infatti più i riferimenti agli A Perfect Circle e agli scandinavi Lingua ad indurmi il mio coinvolgente ma morbido headbanging. Decisamente più compassata la seconda "Do not Disturb the Driver", che evidenzia gli influssi post-grunge della compagine italica, in un brano ritmato ma dal graffiante assolo conclusivo. L'ensemble continua muovendosi su di una matrice soffusa anche con la title track che apre con un riff che s'incunea presto nella testa e la voce del bravo Fabio Giobbe ricama alla grande sfruttando la propria estensione vocale, in un altro pezzone davvero intrigante e dotato di sonorità decadenti. "Head High" conferma la mia visione brit per quanto concerne le vocals ma questa volta anche per ciò che riguarda la musicalità di un brano, sempre votato al versante indie, ma che volge il proprio sguardo anche verso un southern blues rock. È poi la volta di "Follow the Sign" ove il sound si fa più sinuoso: mi immagino una bella fanciulla mezza nuda che si muove sensuale attorno ad un palo di lap dance al ritmo di questa traccia. Con "I Say I", si continua invece a percorrere i torbidi sentieri del rock atmosferico, con una traccia che poggia su di un ipnotico giro ritmico, spezzato da un break che rimanda ai Nirvana, prima  che l'ennesimo assolo conclusivo regali quel quid addizionale per la buona riuscita dell'album. "Cold Like a Stranger" rappresenta il momento della ballata romantica, in cui è un certo mood malinconico ad affiorare, come in una uggiosa giornata di novembre con quell'ardore finale che strizza l'occhiolino ai Red Hot Chili Peppers. In "Missed Punch", i nostri non mi convincono troppo, e cosi skippo alla successiva "Queen of Nothing", song più movimentata rispetto alle precedenti, che sfoggia un riffing scuro, quanto la voce del bravissimo Fabio che mi incanta sempre più per la sua convincente performance vocale. Arriviamo nel frattempo all'ultima "Free To", che condensa la proposta dei This is not a Brothel in una traccia dai tratti disarmonici e più ostici da assimilare, che verosimilmente si propone di mostrarci la faccia più sperimentale della band italica. Dando infine un ultimo sguardo ai testi dell’album, vi basti sapere che sono stati affidati allo scrittore Gianluca Merola, autore di 'Dio Taglia 60', ed affrontano, in modo crudo, la realtà che ci circonda. Convincenti al massimo, ben fatto! (Francesco Scarci)

(I Make Records - 2017)
Voto: 75

https://thisisnotabrothel.bandcamp.com/album/far-is-here

Il Silenzio delle Vergini - Colonne Sonore Per Cyborg Senza Voce

#PER CHI AMA: Post Rock/Noise/Industrial

Me l'ero perso per strada questo lavoro d'esordio de Il Silenzio delle Vergini, devo ammetterlo: 'Colonne Sonore Per Cyborg Senza Voce' è un disco strumentale che consta di sette tracce cinematiche che si aprono con "001", che delinea immediatamente la proposta avanguardista industriale del progetto capitanato da tal Greco Armando (già nei Tic Tac Bianconiglio e nei Lexus). Trattandosi di musica sperimentale è ovviamente facile trovare un po' di tutto al suo interno: dall'eterea opening track alla più claustrofobica "002", song più criptica e minacciosa, che si lancia in alcuni frangenti in divagazioni più noise-oriented. "003" sembra più litanica nel suo ipnotico incipit, in cui si fondono suoni cibernetici con un post rock robusto e siderale, come se l'ascolto dell'album ci proiettasse nello spazio più profondo, lanciati da una fionda gravitazionale. La quarta song è un estemporaneo esperimento che ci presenta la band sotto una luce diversa: una musicalità gothic/post-punk, che per certi versi mi ha rievocato i torinesi Burning Gates, in un pezzo cantato in italiano ma in stile vocale vicino ai Fields of the Nephilim, addirittura con qualche rara incursione growl. Si riprende con le sonorità strumentali, visionarie ed intimiste: è il turno di "005", song malata, caustica, lisergica, comunque sempre imprevedibile, che se avesse avuto una voce black, poteva fare la sua bella figura in un qualche disco illuminato dei francesi Blut Aus Nord. Sonorità elettro-industrial per "006", che affida la sua ritmica ad un possente rifferama disturbato qui da sonorità droniche in background. 'Colonne Sonore Per Cyborg Senza Voce' chiude con l'ultima "007", un pezzo vibrante, guidato dai suoni di chitarra bella pesante che si amalgamo alla perfezione con le atmosfere rarefatte e nebbiose di quest'ultimo capitolo, che sancisce la conclusione di un disco quanto mai interessante e multisfaccettato. (Francesco Scarci)

((R)esisto - 2017)
Voto: 75

https://soundcloud.com/ilsilenziodellevergini/tracks

Chaotic Remains - We Are Legion

#FOR FANS OF: Symph Black/Death Metal

Chaotic Remains is a Maltese symphonic death/black metal band who has been in the extreme music scene for almost ten years. The band had been active since 2008 but they were not able to record an album until last December 1st. Their debut album, 'We Are Legion', is what I am going to describe in this review.

There is really nothing special in this album. Like the contemporary symphonic extreme metal groups, Chaotic Remains built a more symphonic proposal but weaker in aggressiveness and lacking in catchiness album. I love the idea of extreme bands trying to go experimental with keyboards and orchestral sound on their music. There are bands who had been successful doing that method in the past, and a few in the present. However, even with a thought-provoking vision of Chaotic Remains to make a good release with their brand of music, the band failed to deliver a notable album that will give the listeners a reason to keep it in the rack along with their collection.

The big flaw in this record is the played out and prevailing use of the keyboards. Keys are good when a band knows how to use and utilize them with other instruments in their offering. I am not against bands that are bringing in keyboards in their music, but they have to be crafty in using it. Chaotic Remains had failed to do that in 'We Are Legion'. The keys here smothered all the other instruments. It hauled the guitars to the back and at the same time, it competes with a loud tone against the drum sound.

The guitar sound is near inaudible here because the orchestration is all over the place. Both guitars do not have much to show for themselves and are both somewhere in the line of playing some half-decent riffs. Perhaps, if the band had put them at the front of the mix, it would have served to make this offering less unrelieved than it is. Drum section is sometimes indistinguishable from the guitar chugging because of the keyboard symphonics that had buried everything. Bass section is also a disappointment as they blend in too well with the already indistinct rhythm guitar.

There are many brief periods of time in the album where it will be possible to notice that the band is attempting to assault the audiences with their music but they were unsuccessful in doing that due to the overdone symphony and absence of crudeness and bleakness in the record. The outcome of the tracks is also a cliché. Every song sounds exactly the same and it does not progress at all. Right from the beginning of each track, the feeling will stay the same until the end and there is no feistiness to be found.

To summarize this review shortly, 'We Are Legion' is a dreadful album that could have been entertaining if Chaotic Remains had look to build on other elements rather than focusing solely on the symphonic side of the music. I really find it boring and I can’t find any reason why I should ever listen to the songs of this record again. (Felix Sale)

(Mighty Music - 2017)
Score: 40

https://www.facebook.com/chaotic.remains

One Horse Band - Let's Gallop!

#PER CHI AMA: Southern Blues Rock

Nello scalciante esordio discografico della one man band milanese, il punkabilly infervorato proposto dalla programmatica "Declaration of Intent" disarciona immediatamente l'ascoltatore con l'unico scopo di scaraventarlo al centro esatto di un polveroso rodeo sonoro, in cui fervono accelerazioni cowpunk ("Mama I Think I'm Drunk"), energia, galoppanti heavy blues ("Wild Lovin' Woman"), alcool sovente ingerito in eccesso, irraggiungibili figure femminili, echi early-70-stoniani ("Howlin' at Your Door"), a tratti marcatamente southern/folk ("Uh hu hu Yeah!" agguanta al lazo gaglioffi del calibro di Zz Top e Bob Seger; "Venus", un'indovinata cover della hit che portò tanta gloria e pochi soldi agli olandesi Shocking Blue nel lontanissimo sessantanove), ammiccamenti glam ("Bad Love Blues"), Jon Spencer (la summenzionata "Declaration..."), incornate e tantissimo slide (per es. nella vol-3-zeppeliniana "Altare", in chiusura). Un album che potreste ascoltarvi con leggerezza in esclusiva compagnia di cinque litri di Bud e di una T-bone di bisonte da un chilo e mezzo. (Alberto Calorosi)

(Self - 2017)
Voto: 65

https://www.facebook.com/onehorseband/

Crafteon - Cosmic Reawakening

#FOR FANS OF: Black Metal

Crafteon is a relatively new band which was born in Denver a few years ago. The band plays black metal with a clear melodic touch, which is notorious departure from what two thirds of the band members used to do in some of their previous projects. Those bands were more closely related to power metal, so Crafteon marks a new and much darker step in their careers. The band´s music, the concept and even the monicker itself are based on H.P. Lovecraft´s works. Curiously, the word Crafteon comes from a play-on-words between the words “Lovecraftian" and "Aeon."

Crafteon´s unsigned debut, entitled 'Cosmic Reawakening', has a truly eye-catching artwork, which fits perfectly well with the concept and the history behind the album´s music. The picture depicts a monstrous creature emerging from the oceanic depths, very appropriate in my opinion, for a “Lovecraft-esque” album. The booklet contains some paintings with a similar style and concept, which makes it look as a quite impressive artwork. Not a few extreme metal bands are inspired by H.P. Lovecraft´s tenebrous and mysterious works, and though Crafteon doesn´t reach The Great Old Ones wicked, complex and suffocating interpretation of this dark universe, it’s a different yet interesting offering. In contrast to the French band, 'Cosmic Reawakening' is a much more melodic work with an excellent guitars' work. The album has generally a mid-paced tone, with sporadic fast sections, like at the beginning of the opening track “The Outsider”. Another interesting detail is the bass lines, unlike in many other black metal albums, it can be listen to reasonably well through the album, which I personally appreciate a lot, because the bass lines are buried during the mixing too many times. With regards the production, the album has a slightly filthy production which doesn’t ruin the final result, mainly because the guitar lines, which reign in this album, are easily recognizable and distinctive. The combination of melodic sections and ultra catchy guitars work perfectly well in tracks like “The Colour Out of Space” and specially “The White Ship”, which is highly addictive. Crafteon surely knows how to compose riffs which remain in the head of the fan. This is usually the great difference between the just “ok” albums and the truly good ones like this debut. The vocals sound pretty strong and varied, ranging for slightly high-pitched to a more common hoarse and rotten tone, which for some reason reminds me Mayhem.

In conclusion, this is a fine debut by Crafteon and a pretty enjoyable work for those who want to make an immersion into Lovecraft´s tenebrous universe, without leaving aside a healthy dose of melodic and catchy riffs. For future releases, I would recommend a step forward in terms of production and perhaps the introduction of some atmospheric keys. In my opinion it could work pretty well. (Alain González Artola)

(Self - 2017)
Score: 80

https://crafteon.bandcamp.com/releases

Wrathprayer/Force of Darkness - Wrath of Darkness

#FOR FANS OF: Black/Death/Thrash

A cooperation of two Chilean underground bands on Nuclear War Now! Productions - this is definitely not the stuff fans of Bon Jovi and further idiots are looking for. South America is, in terms of metal, equipped with an extra dose of bestiality and therefore it is only logical that Wrathprayer play a violent form of death/black metal. They open the split with heavyweight guitars and vocals that originate from the zombie mausoleum next door. In a matter of seconds, it becomes obvious that this band does not intend to entertain a costumed crowd with some easy listening black thrash. Totally aligned with the name of the label, their songs spread some extremely martial and destructive vibes. Too bad that they offer only two relevant tracks, because the intro can be skipped.

Apart from this minor blemish, the band shows full dedication and their relatively unorthodox patterns avoid successfully any form of fatigue. There are more than enough (well integrated) breaks that ensure the necessary degree of diversity without tearing the songs apart. In view of the carefully constructed song patterns, one cannot blame them for having released somehow half-baked pieces. The songs do not lack coherence, despite their hostile and unapproachable configuration. Not to mention their outstanding parts, for example the dragging section in the centre of "Tria Serpentis" which relies on a creeping monster riff. A rate of 75 could be appropriate for Wrathprayer.

The question is whether their compatriots from Chile's capital Santiago are able to surpass this result. Unlike Wrathprayer, Force of Darkness do not dive into the deadly genre. Their mix consists of thrash and black metal. A touch of chaos accompanies their sound. For example, concentrate on the insane drumming. Nevertheless, this does not mean that they do not know what they are doing. It is just a little bit more difficult to internalize the songs of Force of Darkness. Sometimes extremely fast drums liaise with rabid lines while the lead vocalist delivers a kind of malignant nagging with a lot of reverb on it. Catchiness is of minor relevance and so the listener follows the formation on its wild ride through the wasteland of terror.

Of course, Force of Darkness also stand for aggression and devastation, but their songs are slightly less apocalyptic than the two steamrollers of Wrathprayer. Some thrashing guitar lines show a minimally more technical approach. This is at the expense of vehemence, but it does not affect the general impression significantly. In particular the pretty monumental "The Order" is more or less on an equal footing with Wrathprayer's songs. Overall, Force of Darkness do not win the competition (65), but their integrity and passion cannot be doubted. Anyway, the split album delivers what it promises: a very harsh outbreak of musical violence. Seems as if Chile is always worth a journey. (Felix 1666)

(Nuclear War Now! Productions - 2017)
Score: 70

https://nuclearwarnowproductions.bandcamp.com/album/wrath-of-darkness

Tchornobog - S/t

#FOR FANS OF: Experimental Black/Death/Doom

Tchornobog is the one man project by Markov Soroka. If this name sounds familiar to you then you might have heard of his funeral doom metal band Slow and the atmospheric/ambient black metal project Aureole, both of them are a one-man band. I heard a lot about Tchornobog’s s/t album so I decided to check it out and see for myself what the fuss is all about. Unfortunately, after listening to the whole material, I wasn't impressed as what others had felt about this studio debut.

Released via Fallen Empire Records in Bandcamp for its digital format last July of 2017, Tchornobog's self-titled debut had impressed quite some audiences in the realm of black/death/doom metal. But after I examined the proposal, I found it non-distinctive and nothing special as what everyone was uttering about. While others praise the album because of its death-metal style guitars and blast beats, super flat and obscured thick production; I find the Tchornobog's music failing to achieve its ideal sound and failing to deliver memorable tunes.

Though I am not impressed about this self-titled release, there are a few elements here that I find satisfactory in some ways. The doomy section and desolate ambiance of the record are decent and it momentarily helps me to ignore the awfully monotonous riff structure. Perhaps if Markov had done more effort on the songwriting segment, the effects would have been more haunting and impossible to forget. The series of looping guitar patterns in this offering, is really weak in its character. It does not have that certain punch that will stick and catch you to get hook on the band's tunes.

There are a few bands in the extreme music genre that can convince their listeners even with a simple repetitive guitar pattern, given that the band had fabricated the guitar riffs to fit well with the style that they are playing. However, Tchornobog's experimental exploitation of multiple sub-genres of extreme music, does not go well with his insufficient effort to write noteworthy guitar riffs. Some listeners are convinced and satisfied with Markov's repetitive guitars because it is reinforced with a bleak and dingy atmosphere. I, on the other hand, do not find that compelling.

Another thing that some people dig about this release, but I find not that impressing, is the pummeling death metal style blasting of the drumming department. There is really nothing exceptional about that part, as it is pretty much just a barrage of machine-like hammering followed by a few pats of toms and cymbals which at times is deceitful enough to win over some audiences’ attention. Even the dark and cryptic overall mood of the record could not save the album from its conspicuous drawbacks.

I know that some fans believed that Tchornobog's otherworldly and deranged atmosphere had rescued this album from falling into the depths of mediocrity, but it most certainly did not. Yes, the mood of the material could have totally made this offering more entertaining if only Soroka had prioritized his songwriting when he was still working on the songs in this debut. I am not saying that I will totally turn my back on this band after this awful release. Tchornobog has that potential that only needs developing. For all we know, Markov had already learned through the drawbacks of this album right at this moment and is ready to put up a more decent piece in the coming future. (Felix Sale)

(Fallen Empire Records/I, Voidhanger - 2017)
Score: 45

https://markovsoroka.bandcamp.com/album/tchornobog