Cardiac Arrest - The Day That Death Prevailed

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

#FOR FANS OF: Death/Black

Another great contribution by the WHOLE band! Everyone worked greatly to making this an outstanding one for 2020. The vocals fluctuate which makes it more diverse and dynamic of an album. It's surprisingly shorter than most of their LP's (if not all). That doesn't take away from their contribution to metal here. This is all in all pure death/rot. The guitars are still in B-flat so there's still that "chunkiness" to the songs. Tempos vary a lot here which is cool. And the leads were shriek-ingly intense. Technical, but loud! It seemed like they had a lot of ideas here to bring for to stage. And the riffs were really groove laden. It's definitely experimental album in that sense it's atypical CA.

I've found some really interesting tracks to be "Naegeric Outbreak" and "A Call For Violence." But I've located all the tracks to be pretty good, so I'd recommend these first to check out on YouTube. This album is available on Bandcamp or Spotify, a lot of the tracks are also on YouTube. I've found the whole album on Spotify, but I'm to get a physical CD of the album when they're available. It always sounds better through my speakers than my iPhone. I prefer CD over digital and the fact that you're supporting the band. I think ever since the beginning of CA, they've always stayed true to their roots. They've stayed death/rot metal and continue to stay.

The overwhelming variety in the music makes this to be one of their best. I really admire the riffs and the different tempo changes throughout the album. Adam knows how to write some killer riffs. Always a bad ass in the guitar department. It's been a great experience to know some of these guys in different preferences of musical tastes. The production quality is raw-like in respect to how the overall sound is. The mixing was done well too and everything sounds good in that respect. It's always great to hear interesting metal. This is one of my favorite CA albums (by far) though I just had wished that it was a bit longer. That's alright though. It's still a great listen to!

Show the band some support on Bandcamp getting the digital music or when the CD's become readily available, purchase them. Keep the spirit of the pure death/rot metal. Another album done and these guys totally nailed it. I totally respect the band and what they put out musically to the metal community. And being a native Chicagoland band puts them in the ranks of top notch to this day. Having heard bands like Cianide, Blood of the Wolf, and Everdying I've had to just say that they're the ones who've dished out the most recordings and consistently. If Cianide were able to put out more music, they'd be among the top ranked in Chicago. CA is among them. Buy their music! (Death8699)

(Boris Records - 2020)
Score: 82

https://borisrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-day-that-death-prevailed

WitcheR - Néma Gyász

#PER CHI AMA: Atmospheric Black

Quello che ho tra le mani oggi non è altro che l'EP del 2012 dei WitcheR, rispolverato dalla Filosofem Records con una traccia addizionale, che porta la durata di 'Néma Gyász' a quella effettiva di un full length, senza dimenticare poi l'utilizzo di una nuova veste grafica per l'artwork di copertina. Il disco consta di cinque tracce per oltre quaranta minuti di musica. L'album si apre con una tastieristica intro ambient a cui segue "Egyedül": qui grande spazio viene concesso alla componente strumentale che delinea immediatamente il sound del duo ungherese come un black atmosferico. Quando la voce di Roland irrompe col suo gracchiare, i toni diventano più compassati e la proposta dei WitcheR sembra ammiccare a quella dei loro conterranei Sear Bliss. Questo per dire che i due musicisti ungheresi non propongono chissà quale ricercata proposta sonora, tuttavia il compito lo portano a casa con diligenza e intelligenza. Si sente ovviamente che il sound non è ancora del tutto formato, pecca ancora in fase compositiva e sembra essere un po' carente in fatto di personalità, per non parlare poi di una pastosità nei suoni che ne minano la riuscita finale. Nella title track si possono scorgere altri riferimenti che portano i nostri ad abbracciare anche l'epica di Summoning e Falkenbach, con un sound in cui i synth di Karola punteggiano l'intera ritmica del pezzo, affiancati dallo screaming strozzato di Roland e da una linea ritmica talvolta un po' gracile e più nelle retrovie. "Esőnap" è un lungo pezzo strumentale ascrivibile al dungeon synth, visto che qui le keys la fanno da unico padrone. In chiusura la sostanziosa bonus track, "Keresztúton", quindici minuti che ci riconducono alle radici del black atmosferico degli anni '90, per uno splendido salto nel passato che vuole rendere tributo a 'Stormblast' dei Dimmu Borgir oppure ai Gehenna degli esordi. I ritmi si confermano rilassati per quasi l'intera durata del brano, la cui stesura è comunque concomitante a quella degli altri pezzi. Eppure nel finale qualcosa cambia, un licantropo sembra impossessarsi di Roland che sprigiona dalla sua bocca voci demoniache, cosi come la ritmica qui si fa più incalzante e tirata che nel resto del disco, mostrando un lato che fino ad ora non avevamo apprezzato cosi tanto. Se il mattino ha l'oro in bocca, allora dobbiamo aspettarci grandi progressi per l'ultimo album realizzato, quel 'A Gyertyák Csonkig Égnek' che presto recensiremo su queste stesse pagine. (Francesco Scarci)

(Rotten Crowz Productions/Filosofem Records - 2012/2020)
Voto: 70

https://witcherband.bandcamp.com/album/n-ma-gy-sz 

Blood of the Wolf - III: Blood Legend

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

#FOR FANS OF: Death/Black, Morbid Angel

This is a bit more mild then their first two albums, but it's still good work! It's a little bit less than 20 minutes in length, but that doesn't take away from the glory of the EP. I'd say all 4 tracks hit home with me. They really know how to work hard and making some original death/black metal. It's all in your face killer! But yeah, all of these are going to pave the way to the next release. By far, they've been heading in the right direction since their debut. I don't think there's anything that I've heard from this band that isn't worthy of praise. The music is what is most captivating and intriguing. The songwriting is just amazing.

Mike was serious when he said that he's been doing good with the writing of these songs. I'd have to agree with him wholeheartedly. There isn't a song I've heard in his entire discography that I've disliked. Now they just need to keep up the pace. It'd be really great if they come out with a full length this year. If we have to wait, we wait. But the EP here is just a segue to probably another good LP. I would say that every riff on this EP is amazing. I think that the production quality here is amazing and the mixing well done, too. They really kick ass once again! Mike's vocals are deep and the riff-writing totally original.

I think that this band is filled with a long life and is totally original. The music is what hits home in every aspect. The low-end vocals just tear it up along with the guitars. Everything here slays! There is a little bit of diversity in the vocals but not much. When they change it up, it sounds good! The drums on here are sick too, fast and furious! They keep up with the guitar well. I'd venture to say that for an EP, this one does a lot of justice for the band. Tempos aren't always the same, but mostly they rip it up with fast blast beats and tremolo picking guitar work. Mike does a great job in the vocal duties.

If you haven't heard this and you're a metalhead, get it! It's a segue to the upcoming album (hopefully soon). I got this on CD, but it is available on Bandcamp and possibly YouTube. I liked all 4 tracks. They just don't end with fury, they are fueled with might! These guys just blew me away when I first heard this. Then checking out albums I&II I though was a good idea. it's good to get all of their material because it's fast, furious and filled with rage. These guys are unrelenting and they don't give up on the intensity. Wish I could see them perform in the some near future if that'll ever be possible again. Get this! (Death8699)

(Horror Pain Gore Death Productions - 2019)
Score: 80

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/iii-blood-legend

Craft - White Noise and Black Metal

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

#FOR FANS OF: Swedish Black

Dark, depressing and grim is the atmosphere of this LP. They keep it really underground to say the least. The music isn't really too fast, but has some good riffs I'd say more than here or there. The vocals make the music even more dark. I'd have to say that everything on here isn't something that you'd want to listen to if you're melancholic. So yeah, the riffs I like a lot and the aura of the album. The intensity is there, too. It's a pretty diverse release musically. I like what I'm hearing. But it's not something that I'd say I'd get the CD to. Maybe, maybe in time. My genres aren't too keen on black metal.

The guitars are really original riff writing wise. They seem to keep the rest of the instruments in flux and yes, there are some points where the music is a little bit fast and fierce. They change tempos up quite a lot. And a lot of tremolo picking with the guitars. Definitely neat in composition style. I like the way they put the music together. Of course more songs would've been nice but this is 42 minutes and the music just is balls out intriguing. I liked all of the songs on here. There's a little biased in me saying so because I'm a former guitarist. But yeah, all of the music on here is damn well good!

The production as I discussed has made the album even more dark. The sound quality is good and the mixing superb. I recently heard of this band and definitely liked what I heard. There aren't many tracks on here that have a lot of vocals which is alright a lot of it is guitar work not so much voice. But that's alright, seems like the concept is to get the guitar riffs to be overpowering in most of the music. It's definitely their concept or way of writing on here. Seems to be the focus on most of the songs on here. As I have listened through the album, the music (as stated) is the main focal points. There seems to be mostly just music.

I like this release but I thought that they needed more vocals to it to keep it more well rounded. But in any case, I still give it a "B" rating. They definitely are a good band and this album has put them in the category of some awesome black metal. I have this on my phone and find that listening to it closely the music was definitely the primary highlight than anything else. They just needed to add to the music with more vocal tracks. That's my only beef with the release. I thought that most of the riffs were really cool. And the sound quality was good. Loved the guitars a lot and the atmosphere. Check it out! (Death8699)

(Season of Mist - 2018)
Score: 78

https://craftofficial.bandcamp.com/album/white-noise-and-black-metal

Needlepoint - Walking Up That Valley

#PER CHI AMA: Psych/Prog/Folk

Nel brano di apertura del nuovo disco della band di Oslo, "Rules of a Mad Man", c'è una frase del testo che mi ha colpito molto e dice più o meno così: "...ben presto la scacchiera fu un disastro, il gioco non aveva l'aspetto degli scacchi, la regina è stata pugnalata da una forchetta, da una pedina malvagia di New York..." Questo dettaglio, a mio parere, è la chiave per affrontare e capire il pianeta Neddlepoint, band talentuosa, con più di un decennio di vita e molti album alle spalle, band dall'indole visionaria, stralunata, piena di risorse e degna prosecutrice di una sorta di musica concettuale con chiari rimandi al periodo power flower, quanto alla psichedelia di fine anni '60, primi anni '70 per toccare picchi di progressive, jazz e free rock. Un quartetto capace, proprio come nel primo brano, di cantare e mettere in musica, le vicende di una battaglia che avviene tra pedine, fantomatici eroi e cavalieri, in una scacchiera immaginaria. Questa ben presto si allargherà ad un campo di battaglia all'interno della mente di un folle, affondando le sue radici in un contesto intellettuale, talmente fantasy e psichedelico favolistico, che lascia sconcertati per tanta fruibile bellezza. I norvegesi Needlepoint adorano il lato morbido e poetico del progressive, carico di venature assai colorate, ove nei testi si nasconde sempre una vena malinconica. Nel loro rincorrere voli di libera fantasia, ci si può imbattere poi in un corpo che si sdraia sull'erba e vuole essere portato via dalle formiche, proprio come raffigurato nell'artwork della copertina, sulla falsa riga de "I Viaggi di Gulliver". Musicalmente il quartetto di Oslo è impeccabile grazie a una sezione ritmica brillante piena di vitalità esecutiva che quando scioglie le briglie è un piacere ascoltarla. Tra le varie peripezie, la lunga "I Offered You the Moon" è una vera delizia. Una voce moderata di grande enfasi conduce il gioco ma non invade mai il campo, a tratti ricordando il guizzo allucinato dei Nirvana (quelli psichedelici inglesi non quelli di Kurt Cobain) di 'The Story of Simon Simopath' del 1967, poi si ricoprono di luce cristallina aprendosi al psych folk di 'The Shepherd' dei Genesis più intimi, abbandonandosi alle allucinazioni psichedeliche tra The Kaleidoscope e primi Caravan. L'intero disco è solcato da un sacco di strumenti e ospiti, il solo vocalist e compositore di tutti i brani e testi, Bjørn Klakegg, suona chitarra, cello, flauto e violino con cui, nel finale della folkloristica "So Far Away", dona anche un tocco di atmosfera celtica, il che ne amplia notevolmente le prospettive. "Carry Me Away" assume un taglio esotico con venature jazz, rock e bossanova, inoltre la presenza del coro "Carry me away", impreziosisce il brano portandolo verso lidi inaspettati e geniali proprio nella sua parte finale, cosi carica di fascino luminoso. "Another Day" e la lunga title track, con quella sua iniziale sognante malinconia e la sua coda evolutiva, sono l'ideale conclusione per un'opera immensa che il grande pubblico amante del prog/psych con la P maiuscola dovrebbe conoscere. Un disco che nasconde un'infinità di spettacolari luoghi e paesaggi sonori tra le sue note, un album che impressiona anche solo immaginando lo sforzo fatto per la sua stesura, l'ottima produzione e la sua artistica concezione, un disco che a dispetto del tempo, è da mettere in bacheca tra i gioielli di un'era, quella tra il 1967 ed il 1970, che cambiò il modo di intendere la musica rock, per sempre. (Bob Stoner)

(BJK Music - 2021)
Voto: 83

https://needlepoint.bandcamp.com/album/walking-up-that-valley

The Corona Lantern - Certa Omnibus Hora

#PER CHI AMA: Sludge/Death Doom, My Dying Bride, Cult of Luna, Morbid Angel

Nati nel 2014 in quel di Praga come realtà post metal, i Corona Lantern tornano a cinque anni di distanza dal loro debut 'Consuming the Tempest'. 'Certa Omnibus Hora' è lo scoppiettante comeback discografico del quintetto ceco che propone sei nuovi pezzi che ne svelano la nuova anima. A rivelarlo è "As Wide Eyes Travel", traccia d'apertura di questo secondo capitolo, che mette in mostra un sound più slabbrato che abbraccia anche doom e sludge, toccando qua e là anche influenze più esterne. Sarà l'utilizzo diversificato di una voce (quella di Daniela "Dahlien" Neumanová) capace di muoversi tra un growl aspro e spoken words, di un suono costantemente ritmato dall'inizio alla fine del brano, e di un senso di oppressività che non lascia tregua per tutti i sei minuti e mezzo dell'opener, che persiste nel generare pensieri e tormenti nell'anima. Già diversa e più accessibile è la seconda "Through This Swamp of Oblivion", un brano che evidenzia altre peculiarità del sound dei nostri ma che con il suo incedere inquieto, sembra scandire il tempo che conduce alla fine della vita, perfettamente allineato peraltro con il titolo del disco, ossia l'ora della fine è certa per tutti. Una metafora, la linea e il senso dell'esistenza, la paura, la morte, tutte tematiche che lascio a voi il piacere di approfondire, sfogliando lo splendido libretto incluso nell'elegante cd della compagine ceca. Fatto sta che, per quanto cupa e pesante sia la melodia del brano, la trovo decisamente più ariosa dell'opener, con una linea di chitarra di facile presa che ci conduce anche nei meandri oscuri di un black fosco che per oltre dieci minuti ci condurrà fino alle porte della più funerea "Up the Last Hill". Questo è un altro brano che si muove più a rilento nel contesto musicale del disco, non fissando peraltro grossi punti di riferimento nel panorama doom, sebbene il suo sound possa essere accostabile ad un ipotetico ibrido tra My Dying Bride e Cult of Luna. Interessanti non c'è che dire, ma anche arcigni e ostici da digerire, quindi fate attenzione. Questo implica inevitabilmente un maggiore sforzo in sede di attenzione da dedicare alla proposta del quintetto, il che è piuttosto consueto quando ci si avvicina ad un genere complicato come questo. Con "Hours Between Heartbeats" il suono si fa più dinamico, complice un attacco più death oriented che si assesta su un'alternanza tra parti violente e altre più compassate e melodiche, in cui la melodia della sei corde fa da driver all'intero pezzo, non disdegnando in alcuni momenti anche aperture quasi progressive, per un finale che emula il battito cardiaco a svanire. Un bel giro di tastiere apre la più psichedelica "Make Me Forget", che quando attacca con le chitarre sembra pagare dazio a "Shades of God" dei Paradise Lost. E lo dico con un'accezione positiva, dal momento che ho amato alla follia quel disco. Certo, non siamo di fronte alla grandezza di quel masterpiece che l'anno prossimo compirà 30 anni però, la musicalità, il tremolo picking, l'alternanza ritmica e la prova convincente al microfono di Dahlien, ne fanno probabilmente il brano meglio riuscito del cd. Ma ne manca ancora uno all'appello, "The Truth and Its Will", con i suoi 10 minuti abbondanti di sonorità e atmosfere soffuse che sembrano coniugare nel modo migliore, scavalcando quindi in termini qualitativi la precedente song, quanto ascoltato sin qui in 'Certa Omnibus Hora'. Il brano mette in mostra le migliori melodie del disco, mi appaga in termini di malinconia, qui rilasciata a fiumi, ha dei riffoni di una pesantezza estrema quasi ci trovassimo di fronte ai Morbid Angel, e poi sublimi sono quelle sfuriate tipicamente blackish sul finire. Diciamo che rimane ancora qualche ingenuità da limare qua e là, necessaria per scrollarsi di dosso quell'alone eccessivamente "nineties" che sembra avvolgere l'intero album, ma la band è di certo sulla strada giusta per creare una propria identità che le permetterebbe di accedere ad un pubblico più vasto ed altrettanto esigente. Osare ancora di più please! (Francesco Scarci)

(Metalgate Records - 2020)
Voto: 72

https://thecoronalantern.bandcamp.com/album/certa-omnibus-hora

Carcass - Reek of Putrefaction

BACK IN TIME:
http://www.secret-face.com/

#FOR FANS OF: Gore-Grind

Sweet debut from UK greats! This is pure gore-grind. Raw, brutal and fast are some ways to describe this album in its entirety. Both trade-offs in the the vocal department. Screams and bellows are some of the sounds of the vocals. It's a good combination. I liked this whole debut. Of course it lead up to something greater even though Ken Owen can't rejoin the band due to his massive brain hemorrhage when he was only 28. He's not to play drums any longer. It sucks because like Mick Harris (ex-Napalm Death, ex-Defecation) Ken was a grind great! All we have are his memories of this earlier albums.

The music is just all over the place, grind blasts everywhere. It's a mixture of death metal and grindcore hence gore-grind. There's actually a lot going on at once with this album. Some tracks feature the vocal trade-offs and blasts some just aggressive vocals and slower tempos. And strikingly loud lead guitar. In any case, Carcass does a great job as staying extreme here as to what's to pursue down the line in terms of discography. Bill and Jeff being longtime members put together some pretty cool music even though it fluctuates all over the place. That's alright though, it's what to beholden of them as I said in the future.

I enjoyed this whole album because it is just so sickly crazy. The tempos swing like memoirs of moods and madness which is taken from Kay Jamison - An Unquiet Mind. Imagine that being this Carcass release as being one big episode of madness. It's greatness is in its experimental sounds. The riffs are KING and the blasts are with precision. Ken makes a great effort in the drum department the whole way through. I enjoyed this CD a lot because of its universality. And unique sound vibes to it. It really packs a punch to it the whole way through. They just tear it up in the grind department.

This album is quite raw and unique. It really goes every which direction in sounds the guitars are just a massive aneurism. And the vocals by all three of the band members are sickly. They just don't let up in trade-offs, versatile tempos and massive grind. I would check this out on YouTube if you're a newbie to grindcore or goregirnd. It's a must to listen to this in its entirety to get a taste of what raw uncensored Carcass sounds like. The album artwork is quite disgusting so just factor that into the music and well you get the idea. I like old Carcass because of what they've become. Get it and take a listen or many! (Death8699)

(Earache Records - 1988)
Score: 80

https://carcass.bandcamp.com/album/reek-of-putrefaction

Malice Divine - S/t

#FOR FANS OF: Death/Black

The global pandemic situation we all are suffering has nearly made impossible to enjoy live concerts, putting many bands under a difficult economic situation. On the other hand, many other bands, especially solo projects, are focusing more than ever on creating new music, prior to a hypothetical solution to this tricky situation. Malice Divine is a solo project hailing from Toronto, that took the advantage from such situation to give the final touches to its self-titled debut album, to be released this February. Ric Galvez, the musician behind this new act, had a previous band called Astaroth Incarnate. After leaving this band, he focused on composing a full album for his solo project, where we could have the creative control expressing in one project all his musical influences. Twenty-twenty was not obviously an easy year to record an album but with the support of a session drummer, he was able to record this opus, that combines black, death and thrash metal influences, always with a strong melodic touch.

Malice Divine´s self-titled album lasts almost an hour and it is indeed a melodic fest of excellently composed guitars. It is pretty clear that Ric has some classic influences when he draws the guitar lines, especially the frequent and well-executed solos, that have a remarkably vintage influence. As it is quite obvious, this is a guitar led album where the riffs play a shining role, flowing from more black metal influenced riffs to some death metal, thrash metal and even heavy metal ones. The guitars are excellently composed and executed with very well-crafted sections, that change frequently pace and intensity. With regards to the vocals, Ric’s voice is quite good, typically rasped and enough strong so as not to pale in comparison to the powerful rhythm base and guitars. The songs are quite varied in terms of pace, combining fast and medium sections with a remarkable naturalness. There are indeed some nice examples of relentless fury as we can enjoy in "Malicious Divinity". Other compositions like the short "Intuitive Realization" are not as fast as the aforementioned one, tough they don't lack the expected forcefulness. In any case, Malice Divine sounds more comfortable with mid-tempo sections full of intensity, with very powerful drums that create a relentless rhythmic section, making the songs sound stronger overall. "Ancient Visions" is probably the song with a clearer contrast between the fast sections, with blast-beasts and typically black metal influenced tremolo picking guitars and the calmer sections, making it the most personal composition of this album.

All in all, Malice Divine’s debut is a quite impressive first effort, that shows the great amount of work done by its mastermind. The well-made confluence of styles makes this album very appropriate for any fan of extreme metal. (Alain González Artola)

(Self - 2021)
Score: 80

https://malicedivine.bandcamp.com/releases