Permanent Midnight - Under the Blood Moon

#FOR FANS OF: Black Metal, Sathanas, Summoning, Caladan Brood

Releasing original music years after the band’s termination date is hardly ever a sign of a quality release, though thankfully this final release from the defunct Pennsylvania crew that comes a full seven years after they disbanded does buck the trend somewhat. While there are plenty of examples as to why the band is no longer around, namely the influx of celestial keyboards and utterly dragging paces, there’s times where it seems like the band did have some sense of direction as to where they were going. The raw production here does make for a really dirty, gritty atmosphere, the riffs at times do manage a rather energetic kick with the punchy inclusion of a primitive Death Metal-style lurch that’s insanely hypnotic and there’s times when the mixture of those celestial keyboards mix quite well with the charging Black Metal atmosphere. That still doesn’t make for all that impressive works, though, when brought up against the flaws in those rather dreary paces that run throughout this, which are all brought about by the sprawling keyboards which tend to cause this one to slow to a crawl that causes the whole song to come crashing down into a really bland and overall boring trend in these sections. As well, this does cause the music to really seem so scattershot and disorganized that it impacts the music more than it really should by throwing all sorts of material around without letting one stick out and this is what ultimately brings this down. Opener ‘Wolf’ may not be the prototypical intro with plodding tempos and a real lack of energy, but the dark, crushing riffs and heavy rhythms along ravenous riff-work do give this some solid points. ‘Fallen from Grace’ is a better attempt at this with a faster set of riffs, utterly dark, pounding drumming and only minor amounts of slower-tempo riffing that at the very least remains chaotic enough to make it enjoyable, and ‘Sex and Gore’ works as yet another short, frantic blaster with plenty of pounding drumming and frantic riffing throughout. With yet another sampled intro, ‘Carnivorous Lunar Activities’ makes up for that nicely with some rather heavy riffs and an impressive drumming array while the inclusion of symphonic-styled keyboards adds a nice balance to the raw chaos. ‘The Evil in the Forest’ is even more experimental with the classical piano compositions and ambient riffing alongside the traditional heavy riffing and pounding drumming and the results equal the album’s best track quite easily. ‘They Feed in the Night’ attempts this as well but doesn’t come off as good due to the heavier use of droning riff-work and dragging paces that hold this one down. The overall bland ‘Set in an Apocalyptic Sunrise’ is yet another of these droning keyboard-heavy dirges that really lacks a lot and tends to come off quite overlong for its own good with bland paces, bland riffs and bland keyboard notes. ‘Saved by Darkness’ does manage to come off quite well against the dreary track that precedes it and does get a little more energy here while the dragging final half does tend to really drag this out for a whimper of a finale. That tends to run rampant throughout this one and really lowers this one. (Don Anelli)

(Paragon Records - 2013)
Score: 60

https://www.facebook.com/onetruePermanentMidnight

Elderblood - Son of the Morning

#FOR FANS OF: Symphonic Black Metal, Dimmu Borgir, Carach Angren

Being a debut, there’s very little reason why this one is as good as it is but therein lies the fact that this Ukrainian act has just positioned themselves at the forefront of the genre with this commanding, impressive release. Being a Symphonic Black Metal act, there’s very little about this that should appear as a surprise to any listener for the band simply opts for an excessive amount of cinematic-style keyboards that appear as if they’re scoring the battle to an epic battle in a Fantasy/Adventure film, which is precisely the case here but then the band throws one of the few genuinely impressive curveballs around with the ability to actually compose material for the guitars to go winding through the lead on here. Filled with tough, muscular rhythms bristling with technical rhythms and blinding speed, there’s a majesty and grace afforded to these rhythms that nicely off-sets the swirling keyboards and makes this music all the more enjoyable. With all this impressive material up-front of the album, there’s little reason why the spectacular drumming holds up or the dynamic bass-lines keep this going but there’s just so much to like here that this one really gets a lot to like about it. While some of the epics could’ve been trimmed down some, there’s still not much to dislike here as the most expansive epic here is the most enjoyable and blistering piece of music on the album so there’s little to not like about that feature here as the songs are just that good. After the pointless noise collage of ‘Gates to Oblivion,’ proper first song Dies Irae’ gets this going nicely with a stellar combination of their influences wrapped in a tight, muscular package that overwhelms to the point of utter enjoyment. ‘Manifestation ov Dark Essence’ is pretty similar only does so with less time, proving that the band doesn’t need to pen epic-length material to have an epic sound and comes off as one of the better highlights here. Even better, the title track manages to come off as utterly, incredibly bombastic with an overload of symphonic keyboards mixed nicely alongside the chaotic guitar patterns while generating a lot of great rhythms and faster tempos than anything before it, serving as a back-to-back highlight. The melancholic ‘My Death’ attempts to place mid-tempo plodding and atmospheric keyboard work instead of the bombastic symphony-laden approach which gets a little tiresome just due to the meandering mid-section but still has the right approach to remain likeable enough. ‘Triumph of the Beast’ is yet another epic-length barnburner like the title track which gets in plenty of raging symphonic leads, tight guitars and pounding drumming with a touch of the atmospheric for yet another stand-out effort. While not an overall bad song, ‘The XI-th Angle’ does tend to sound like most of the others here so it doesn’t really stand out in any special way yet still contains all the greatness of what made the others so enjoyable so it does have a lot to like about it. The expansive epic ‘Naglfar’ pretty much makes most of the other tracks here obsolete with a solid nine-plus minutes of technical guitar-work, blazing drumming that hurtles forth at maximum speed for the duration of the track and off-set with gorgeous keyboards shimmering and humming along wielding explosive energies and non-stop tempo variations, making for one of the most enjoyable pieces of music in the scene and single-handedly making this a must-buy release. While not up to par with that gorgeous epic, ‘Egocide’ is still quite enjoyable with a multi-sectioned approach of plodding, mid-tempo work with gorgeous, lighter keyboards up front while delving into traditional blasting-heavy approaches and plenty of bombast in the second half. About the only really weak effort here, ‘Re-Birth’ is just too slow and lethargic to make the most of its ho-hum bombast and middling tempo. ‘Dreamless’ is simply just a simple, spacey keyboard melody signaling the end of the journey as this ends on a positive note. Like a breath of fresh air in the genre, this is easily one of the more impressive Symphonic Black Metal acts to come along in a while and is the start of a hopefully impressive career. (Don Anelli)

(Paragon Records - 2013)
Score: 85

https://www.facebook.com/Elderblood

Hadez - Morituri te Salutant

#FOR FANS OF: Black/Death Metal, Conqueror, Blasphemy, Archgoat

While it may not be the most familiar tags in the genre, Peruvian horde Hadez are one of the most professional at deploying what is the War Metal tag, which for all intents and purposes comprises bestial-sounding Black/Death Metal with a raw edge and a near-continuous assault of blastbeats throughout. That’s what is delivered throughout this one as we get that intense mixture of chunky, dynamic riffing that rages through plenty of varying patterns from Old-School Death Metal to a variety of blistering Black Metal touches throughout here which carries together quite well as the primordial, dripping-with-evil atmosphere of the former meshes with the harsh arrangements and intensity of the latter, allowing for a more traditional sounding approach to the two genres. It’s not until we get the intense blasting throughout this that it really adds to the War Metal moniker here with this likewise generating plenty of extremity here with this blowing through frantic, razor-wire hymns alongside the blasting drumming that really sells this quite well. Add in a touch of Doom for some slower, lurching patterns that’s quite indicative of Latin Extreme Metal in general which runs through here as well and this becomes a highly enjoyable piece to their catalog. Opener ‘Caligula’ is pretty much exactly what you’re going to get here anyway, with precise riffing, a devastating drum-bashing and plenty of savage leads that work up the energy and intensity levels incredibly well. ‘Forgotten God’ manages to showcase a little more of their Doom influences since it’s not full-throttle all the way through and slows it down a touch, but it still blasts along enough to serve as a highlight track. The title track is back to showing off those bestial, primordial rhythms and intense, blasting drumming while retaining the edge Latin extreme metal bands have in their guitar-work as the thick patterns are melded perfectly with the rampaging atmosphere, making for the album’s overall most explosive offering. This is carried over quite nicely into ‘Extrema Unción,’ which contains an excellent mixture of their primordial blasting with a few slower sprawling patterns thrown in along the way, making for another solid highlight. ‘Embrace the Wings of Death’ is the lone weakness among the tracks, dragging itself out far too long with meandering riffs and sluggish paces that shows the slower, sprawling efforts don’t mesh too well with the rest of the material and causes this to stick out somewhat. Raging speedster ‘It Could be Yourself’ gets itself back into blasting mode and reaps plenty of benefits from that with a tight, frantic effort that might not contain the brutality of earlier efforts but certainly has the speed down. ‘Death Terror’ likewise follows the urgent, blistering riff-work pattern as this one re-affirms the intensity of the riffing with a fine slew of battering blastbeats to whip through one raging, enjoyable effort. Finally, the Black Sabbath cover of ‘Symptom of the Universe’ works well with the bouncing tempo and sprawling tempos matching their original work while the intensity in the blastbeats adds quite well to the sluggish original and making for a fine way to end this one. Really, this one comes off quite well with a lot of really enjoyable qualities about it. (Don Anelli)

(Paragon Records - 2014)
Score: 80

https://www.facebook.com/HADEZPERU

Storm Breeder - The Knave

#FOR FANS OF: Progressive/Thrash Metal, Vektor, Abysmalia

When thinking of the term ‘One-Man Band,’ it is quite rarely used to describe Thrash acts so Australia’s Storm Breeder are in very rarified air on this debut. The most apparent factor on the album is Ben Petch’s obviously skilled guitar playing on here which is the main highlight to many of these songs as the skill-set featured here is quite varied and dynamic with just about all the main songs here ranging over seven minutes, one clocking in at nine and only one at five minutes so there’s a lot of material to get through here. The progressive influences come from the incredibly varied tempo changes and dynamics that occur throughout most of the tracks here given that their extended running time allows for such experimentation and variety to happen, while also utilizing the more renown part of Progressive Metal of incorporating the chugging guitar rhythms for its main weapon of attack here which is at times fitting to the music, while others are such radical departures that they cause the music, however well-written and composed they are to stick out quite readily throughout. Despite the length being a big factor here, the music does have a tendency to remain far-too low-key and down-tempo when it really should be a lot faster so the plodding energy can have a lowered effect on the music as a whole here when it really fails to muster any kind of energy for the music on hand. Still, the majority of the tracks here being quite good does make-up for those flaws. The title track immediately sets things in motion with a slew of proficiently arranged rhythms, challenging drum-beats and various tempo changes that showcase the talent on hand while giving off a clear view of what’s to come. A huge misstep after that fine opener, ‘Blood Stained Crown’ nearly eschews thrashing paces for simple riffs, melodic dirges and an energy level that rivals your average ballad for its extended running time, barely keeping the interest in there. The massive epic ‘Scarlet Shade of Death’ is little better with a slew of light, melodic guitars, female vocals and simple riffs throughout a near-ten minute romp that occasionally features a few harder segments but really keeps the lighter sections in play until the finale when it really thrashes away with abandon to save it, but it’s still barely eight minutes into this. Thankfully, ‘March of the Damage Men’ gets back into the energetic riffing with plenty of up-tempo patterns, technically-complex arrangements and plenty of melody while still keeping this going along nicely which makes for a more enjoyable track overall. ‘Mechanised Extermination’ opts for more industrial influences in terms of cyber-sounding keyboards and pounding drumming alongside tight, marching guitars for another rather enjoyable track here. Offering a bit of a further departure from the norm, ‘Demoniacal’ offers the kind of plodding pace, lush keyboard histrionics and melancholic vibe that recalls Gothic Metal at times, a strange choice on a straight-up Thrash record and does have a love/hate relationship to it: it’s a good song as it’s written but just seems like such a left-handed turn from the rest of the material it doesn’t mesh well with anything else. The instrumental ‘A Cold Day in Hell’ serves well as a fine break in the action with its lighter pace and plodding rhythms keeping this short and to the point. Starting off with a bang, ‘Revelation’ carries the better elements in here along with quite a few rather engaging segments that switches things up nicely and ends this on a positive note. Overall, this one isn’t that bad and has some rather decent moments to make for a rather engaging if flawed listen. (Don Anelli)

(Paragon Records - 2013)
Score: 70

https://myspace.com/stormbreeder

Panychida - Grief for an Idol

#PER CHI AMA: Black Pagan, Borknagar, Eluveitie, Primordial

Da uno scambio di battute con il patron della Paragon Records, mi sono ritrovato in mano quasi casualmente il terzo full lenght dei cechi Panychida, uscito nel dicembre 2013. La parola "panychida" in ceco e nella chiesa greco-ortodossa, rappresenta l'osservanza liturgica in onore del defunto. Il suono che esce da questo 'Grief For The Idol' è un concentrato di sonorità black metal pagane che partendo da abrasive ritmiche martellanti (come quelle offerte dalla furiosa opening track o da "The Great Dance of Dyonisos"), vengono impreziosite da epici vocalizzi a la Bathory ('Hammerheart') e da musica di estrazione etnico-bucolica. "Two Untouched Moments" è un pezzo evocativo, che mette in luce la classe ma anche la capacità del quartetto di Plzeň, di abbinare veloci sfuriate black con favolose melodie arcaiche che potrebbero richiamare alla vostra mente acts quali Graveland, Negura Bunget, gli stessi Bathory, e ancora Borknagar, Einherjer, Primordial, Eluveitie e Falkenbach, per un risultato finale davvero esaltante. "Wayfarer's Awakening" è un brano dalle partiture tipicamente folk, suonato anche con cornamusa e flauto. Il pianto di un bambino apre "Don't Tell Lies to Children", traccia che evidenza come l'heavy classico scorra nelle vene di questi ragazzi: ritmiche tirate e precise, suoni gonfi e ottimi assoli. "Doomsayer" una breve traccia pseudo strumentale, corredata solo da qualche chorus pomposo e da una fenomenale linea di chitarra che ci introduce a "O Velji Vezě", altro piccolo gioiellino dell'act ceco, bravo a ricamare orpelli chitarristici là dove e richiesto e allo stesso tempo battere con violenza. Ottima la prova del lead vocalist Vlčák (anche tutti gli altri membri della band cantano su vari pezzi), bravo nel districarsi tra voci growl, scream, clean ed epic. In "Minnestund" compare addirittura V’gandr degli Helheim a prestare la sua voce in un altro brano folk, con liriche in norvegese. Insomma 'Grief For The Idol' è una bella sorpresa da una band comunque dotata di un pedigree di tutto rispetto. (Francesco Scarci)

(Paragon Records - 2013)
Voto: 80

http://www.panychida.com/