Drakon - Р​е​ч​и в​ы​с​о​к​и​е

#PER CHI AMA: Black/Death

Poco più di due mesi fa recensivo 'П​р​о​б​у​ж​д​е​н​и​е' dei russi Drakon, loro full-length d'esordio. Ora, sulla mia scrivania arriva questo 'Р​е​ч​и в​ы​с​о​к​и​е', che potremmo tradurre in inglese come "The Speech is High". Non so a quale discorso il duo, formato da Veleyar e Demether Grail, faccia riferimento, ma per quanto concerne l'aspetto prettamente musicale, non vedo grossi scossoni stilistici rispetto al precedente album. Tre nuove tracce più due cover, di Unanimated ed Enslaved, a tastare il polso della situazione in casa Drakon. Si parte da "Промысл русского Рода", e da una vertiginosa ritmica black/death, su cui si staglia la voce del frontman russo. Chitarre taglienti in stile black svedese intaliano riff acuminati come rasoi, poi il terreno frana in un breve break atmosferico, per poi ripartire in un finale acidissimo. Nessuna peculiarità in questi primi quattro minuti, per poter dire che la proposta dei nostri sia del tutto originale. Ben suonata forse, ma per quel che riguarda la personalità, beh siamo lontani anni luce. La situazione prosegue anche nella successiva "Времяворот", che vede, come unica differenza, una più marcata ricerca di cambi di tempo, cosi come della presenza di cori ad affiancare il cantato gruignolesco del frontman. E ancora, una parvenza di assolo a stemperare la brutalità dell'act russo. "Бог войны" ha un sound più oscuro, assai ritmato e identificabile a cavallo tra il black norvegese e quello svedese, con una discreta dose di melodia ed un rifferama che si conferma compatto ed implacabile. Un altro break atmosferico a stemperare la furia del duo russo e non posso che apprezzare questa ricerca di diversificare i suoni di quello che potrebbe essere tranquillamente una copia del vecchio album. Arriva anche il momento delle cover: "Life Demise" degli Unanimated, da 'Ancient God of Evil' e "Fenris" degli Enslaved, addirittura da 'Frost', due mitici pezzi anni '90 riletti quasi fedelmente rispetto alle originali e che pertanto non spostano di molto il mio giudizio finale. Speriamo in un prossimo lavoro, che veda una maggiore ricercatezza in fatto di originalità, mentre per ora, mi trovo costretto a confermare il vecchio giudizio. (Francesco Scarci)

(Sleaszy Rider Records - 2023)
Voto: 64

https://drakonblackmetal.bandcamp.com/album/ep

Liquid Graveyard - By Nature So Perverse

http://www.secret-face.com/

#FOR FANS OF: Prog Death

This is probably the best Liquid Graveyard release that I've heard. I believe Shane from Napalm Death was still with the band (now departed). I've never heard of the genre they fall under, but it's a pretty cool type of genre. I like the music, though the vocals I'm not too used to right now. I can dig the music the most. This release is under an hour and it really packs a punch. The songwriting was impeccable. It's a little groove laden metal with the Avant-guard twist to it. This is actually one of the first ones I've heard from the band themselves. And what a treat to the eardrums! I liked it immensely!

I'm surprised that not a lot of people don't know about this band. If I were to give advice regarding their discography, again I'd say 'By Nature So Perverse' is where it's at! The vocals are the only thing that I have a beef with! The music is captivating! Good mixing too, you can hear everything in unison so be aware of this and be sure to hold on tight when you hear these riffs. They're spellbinding! I'm not that familiar with the genre they fall under, but it's a damn good example of what it's like! A lot of tremolo and down picking. Really awesome! I didn't think any of these songs were bad, they were superb!

The music is heavy and the production captures the guitars and vocals perfectly everything was well done on here. The vocals are an acquired taste. In retrospect, they're not THAT bad, I just thought because it was female vocals it could've been more like say Alissa White-Gluz or Maria from Feelament. But they do the job nevertheless. Definitely a band that really has a long life even though Shane is no longer in the band with bass duties. That kind of sucks, but they'll manage, I'm sure. I hope that these guys stay together for a long time!

I checked out their previous releases and didn't think that they were as good as this one. So I'd suggest you check this out on Spotify and see what you think. I was blown away by the musicianship. These guys were very professional. The music was really intense as well! I think that they did everything right here! What a monument of a recording! I liked the whole release. Maybe in addition to the bass guitar duties need replacement so do the vocals. But I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon! Check this one out! (Death8699)

(Sleaszy Rider Records - 2016)
Score: 76

https://www.facebook.com/LiquidGraveyard/