Arch Enemy - Deceivers

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

#FOR FANS OF: Melo Death

This is definitely a solid more consistently good release than their predecessor 'Will To Power'. It has good rhythms and melodies that they seemed to go back to but never as good as the first three Arch Enemy albums in their established discography. I don't think it's ever going to be what it once was but at least they're making new albums. Alissa has better vocals than Angela to me but Johan fit in the first three releases. They had hallmark rhythms in the early days that 'Deceivers' seemed to touch upon. And with Jeff Loomis on lead guitar fits where Nick I don't think did and Christopher yes in the early days.

AE is Michael's band after he left Carcass spending time working on two albums with them 'Necroticsm' and 'Heartwork'. I suppose he wanted his own style of melodic melodies and so forth. 'War Eternal' got a lot of negative press too being there were only 3 songs that I care to listen to. But 'Deceivers' seems to be a rebirth of magic melodies that they've constructed. And Alissa is consistent as well lighting up with her brutal vocals some clean, too! But not many at that. I believe that this is an album with multiple combinations of clean, heavy and heavier guitars with Jeff contributing his lead guitar amazing licks.

It seems as though there's multiple contributions in the songwriting, though I believe Michael still has the bulk of the songwriting and melodies. This is a pretty fresh hitting release but with Angela, 'Wages of Sin' probably was her best. For Alissa, this is her best most diverse attack on the vocal department. These guys refuse to go away. I tell you, some of the songs they released before this album came out I didn't like. But when I heard the whole album it reigned supreme. It's not entirely brutal, there are segments of clean vocals and melodies. But it seemed to fit in the direction it took with a more progressive type of melodic death.

I had to order this CD because I think it's one that I'm going to play to death. A lot on here I hold to be true to what metal I'm in favor of. The guitars have a lot of highlights. And the vocals as well. Production quality is fantastic which made the album more likable. I didn't rate this higher than a "75" because I think it didn't hit higher than that mark. Pose more melodic riffs I would've probably hit a higher score of. But yes, this didn't to me deserve any negative marks really. A really well arranged melodic death metal release that they can chalk up to a successful contribution to the metal community. (Death8699)

(Century Media - 2022)
Score: 75

https://www.archenemy.net/en/

Robert Plant - Carry Fire

#PER CHI AMA: Hard Rock

Pilloline di esoterismo fai-da-te ("Carry Fire" e "A Way With Words"), senili blandizie amorose ("The May Queen" e "Season's Song") ed una spolveratina di indignato apocalittismo fuori tempo massimo ("Carving up the World Again…") giusto per dare sapore. E un paio di vezzose canzoni tematicamente sincratiche (blandizie plus esoterismo: "Keep it Hid"; esoterismo plus apocalittismo: "New World..."). Ammettiamolo: i testi di Robert Centrotavola Plant non sono mai stati il suo forte. In questo secondo album, le sonorità dei sensazionali traslatori spaziali si attenuano rispetto al precedente, pirotecnicissimo 'Lullaby... and the Ceaseless Roar', laddove però gli orizzonti tendono persino ad ampliarsi. E se da un lato "The May Queen! rievoca quel sublime folk malinconico che dilagava più di cinquant'anni or sono nel piucchesublime 'Led Zeppelin III', dall'altro "Carving up the World Again..." potrebbe ricordarvi una specie di versione etno-grunge degli Honeydrippers. Non scompaiono mai, o quasi mai (uh, forse soltanto nel rockabilly dire-artritico "Bones of Saints"), certi riverberi etno-ludici ("Dance with You Tonight", "A Way With Words" e la stessa "New World...") soltanto occasionalmente preminenti (la maghrebina title track). La tecno-rarefatta "Bluebirds Over the Mountain" sarebbe una cover del retro del primo (e unico) misconosciuto 45 giri del piucchemisconosciuto Ersel Hickey, che a sua volta vi sembrerà una sorta di rivisitazione rockabilly di "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" (noto brano popolare scozzese). Ma solo dopo aver inalato una piuccheconsistente quantità di THC. (Alberto Calorosi)

(Nonesuch Records - 2017)
Voto: 60

https://www.robertplant.com/

Virulence - A conflict Scenario

BACK IN TIME: recensione gentilmente concessa da Nihil Zine

#PER CHI AMA: Death/Grind

Mi sono avvicinato all’ascolto di questi Virulence con grande curiosità, visto il genere da loro proposto: una miscela estremamente riuscita di grind, death metal, hardcore con stacchi jazz/fusion. Il loro primo full-length album parte con "Entrance", un intro che unisce violenza e atmosfera sfociando poi nella prima song, "Reptilian Triangle". Questa traccia stabilisce subito le coordinate del gruppo. Le parti grind sono devastanti ma comunque tecnicamente pregevoli quanto la presenza di riff più moderni, vicini all’essenzialità della musica hardcore, per non parlare delle variazioni jazz. Si prosegue così leggeri nell’ascolto fino a "Cementing with Introspection", a mio avviso il miglior pezzo presente. Questa song parte con un attacco jazz per poi cadere in un riffing grind sospeso tra ritmiche più moderne e variazioni tipiche del jazz contemporaneo. I Virulence sono veramente originali senza cadere nel patetico in quanto il loro songwriting è ineccepibile come dimostra anche "Your Own Palestine", il brano che chiude il disco. In questo album non ci sono cadute di tono, anzi tutte le tracce presenti sono di gran lunga sopra la media del genere (beh, ovviamente se li consideriamo pezzi grind). Quindi non posso che sostenere i Virulence, un gruppo che con la sua originalità, avrebbe potuto contribuire all’evoluzione del metal estremo (si sono sciolti nel 2003/ndr).

(Morbid Records - 2001)
Voto: 76

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Virulence/2226

Van Diemen - Sarcophilus Laniarius

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

#FOR FANS OF: Melo Death

Patrick Schmidt, the one man band releases his second full-length German based melodic death metal based that has some pretty sick metal! The tempos are slow on all seven tracks, but they are filled with emotion! They remind me a lot of Dissection, In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, et al. But there is a sort of echo and aura to the band. It's wholly dark but the riffs are the highlight to me! The vocals have some kick to them shouting like Jon from Dissection (RIP). That's what they remind me of totally. This guy (Patrick) is totally dedicated to his genre of metal. And he has some unique riffs. I liked this whole album. Only seven songs but 44 minutes in length.

This whole album is chill with a grim aura to it reminiscent of Darkthrone though this guy plays sick melodic death. And a lot of the riffs sound like Dark Tranquillity on the 'Projector' album. There are some bits of fast tempos, but so not much. I like the energy Patrick emits. The vocals compliment the music quite good! In constructing a melodic album as this they have all the components that make it listenable. They're really good at his melodic death craft. Just totally intriguing track after track. What a helluv a composition as this I don't really have anything bad to say about this one. It's solid.

The production quality is superb and even though this is new to me this band keeps improving from their debut album which got average rating press. I think this deserves a lot more! Some songs have clean guitars but only as an inro which segues into a lot of solid metal that just flows. At times it's hardcore in-your-face metal to more melodic episodes it's fascinating how they make sounds that are just immaculate. All of these songs deserve recognition. They are unique and unprecedented compositions of great music. Although they resemble the bands mentioned above they do have their own unique set of music.

I had no problem hearing this a few times with utter amazement. There's just nothing negative to say here. Pure melodic death array of sounds leaving the listener in awe. The vocals are pretty brutal but they fit the music quite well. I don't think that Patrick had any dips or songs that dragged on. All seven tracks are constructed and well thought out. For a pretty unknown band, he makes way to utterly mature and dazzling melodic death metal. I think that if he continues on this journey, he's going to be quite successful. I'm trying to make way for incoming listeners to love and respect this band! (Death8699)

(Self - 2022)
Score: 80

https://vandiemenmetal.bandcamp.com/album/sarcophilus-laniarius

Em Sinfonia - Intimate Portrait

BACK IN TIME: recensione gentilmente concessa da Nihil Zine

#PER CHI AMA: Death/Doom

Nati come side project di Brian Griffin, songwriter/chitarrista/produttore dei più famosi Broken Hope, gli Em Sinfonia approdano a questo full length dopo un demo, diventato poi Mcd ('In Mourning Symphony' su Martyr Music Group), molto venduto. Dediti ad un symphonic doom/death metal con, come dicono, una grande varietà di vocals, i nostri sfornano in realtà un album non proprio decente che non ha niente a che fare con l’etichetta appioppata dalla casa discografica. Canzoni deboli, impersonali, che perdono anche dal punto di vista sonoro per la scarsa qualità di registrazione. Chitarre troppo chiuse, orchestrazioni e violini fiacchi, voci poi talmente varie che non si riconoscono più quelle portanti (tra queste le female vocals sono troppo su toni Festival di San Remo). I testi poi trattano sempre gli stessi argomenti triti e ritriti: "Tears Fall Like Rain", "In Erotic Rapture" e cosi via. Gli E.S. non mi hanno colpito per nulla. Pertanto, non saprei proprio a chi consigliarli.

(Martyr Music Group - 2001)
Voto: 50

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Em_Sinfonia

In Grief - An Eternity of Misery

#FOR FANS OF: Death/Doom

The Italian trio In Grief was founded just two years ago, but the newcomers have been able to present a promising demo and EP prior to the arrival of the always decisive debut, where a new project must show all the cards. This didn’t seem to be a problem as the three musicians are already involved in several other projects, and the experience is always a secure value.

 

'An Eternity of Misery' is the name of the baby and, as you may guess, the music behind this title suits the title perfectly well. What In Grief dues is a 100% classic death/doom metal, absolutely devoted to what the genre has offered since its inception. So, don’t expect any great surprise, although I am quite sure that In Grief doesn’t want to please with you with surprises, but with the quality of its stuff, what fortunately happens. The album begins with an awesome starter entitled "Beyond the Dark Veil", which includes all the elements you want to hear in this genre. Robust growls accompanied by a solid yet classic rhythmic base and quite heavy guitars, this time accompanied by a beautiful violin, an instrument that always shines every time is used in the death/doom genre. In the subsequent track "Ярна", the guitars make a step forward in terms of addictive and memorable melodies which stuck in your mind as the song advances. The composition itself is a bit more upbeat in its peace, which is always a good aspect as the band tries to add some variety in a genre, where the pace is not always so heterogeneous, to say at least. The violin has another nice yet small appearance in the also quite enjoyable track "Queen of Babylon", where it performs another delicate melody accompanied by the guitars, which is the best moment of this composition. The guitar performance is excellent through the whole album with a good dose of excellent heavy riffs, but also some great harmonies and very enjoyable solos. It seems pretty clear to me that there is a good amount of work behind to make sound the guitars enough varied in each song. "Demons" is the real outsider of this album with a different approach and pace. Initially the song is quite soft and has some clean vocals, but it slowly evolves to a heavier section, where the aggressive vocals have a higher pitch than usual. The violin makes another appearance, which unsurprisingly is exquisite once again. The album has a great ending thanks to a trio of excellent songs. Here,the band shows the most excellent aspects of its music with a mixture of great riffs and memorable melodies (those guitars in the middle of "Close to Insanity", accompanied by some fantastic atmospheric arrangements are top-notch), more breathtaking violin additions and a great craftsmanship. Realizing how good are the atmospheric keys, I only hope that they will use them more often in future releases, as they are hypnotizing and enrich In Grief’s compositions in a very appropriate way.

In conclusion, In Grief’s 'An Eternity of Misery' is an excellent debut of pure death/doom metal with a great work in the compositions. I do hope they will explore more their most atmospheric and melancholic side in their future releases, as the violin and the keys are a more than welcoming addition to the already excellence, we can find in the guitar work. (Alain González Artola)

(Iron Bonehead Productions - 2022)

Score: 82

https://www.facebook.com/ingrief/

Soulfly - Totem

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

#FOR FANS OF: Thrash/Groove Death

My first release from Soulfly was 'Savages' which I found to be interesting. This release seemed bland the first few listens to. Then it kind of grew on me. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect here and well this one is a little bit more experimental and cut-throat. I've been a fan of Max Cavalera since the early Sepultura days in the band. He took quite a different approach then those days here is experimental Max. I like it though, the not knowing what to expect here sort of idea. The brutality, the temperance, the enlightenment. It's 40 minutes of in your face metal with vocal effects and odd time signatures.

This type of metal has a bit of a groove to it with death metal components. A really odd release including the leads with terror on the vocals bellowing. These guys have riffs that are simply atypical and sort of bizarre. I don't know how else to describe this album but just that: ATYPICAL. It might be the norm of how Soulfly works and that's how Max wants it, I just sense a peculiar sounds and rhythms. Nothing seems to remain the same it's just different from all respects. Then the clean tone guitars, it gives me pause about the direction the band is taking here. Weird metal and highly atypical.

Forty minutes of this going on what I've described here. It's solid here, Max sounds odd on this it's forceful but not to the extent reflective of Sepultura's Max in your face. Hell, he's in his 50's now still making metal and Igor doing Sepultura tributes too. He's had to relearn their songs but still sounds good. Soulfly is his project. Weird metal it's totally him just whatever he's doing he's putting his thoughts into this music the rhythms are cool and heavy but this experiment with Soulfly puts Max in a different position. I don't hear a plethora of fans liking this band. Those I do because it's metal but it's just different genres.

The anger and brutality is here but Max is in a league of his own dynamics. If he continues in this direction, who knows what to expect on the next LP. More experimenting or something more straightforward? It's unpredictable as to where he's going here. Heavy guitars, clean bouts and vocals with an echo/reverb. This guy is totally metal, it's just his ideas for metal aren't at all the same as the Sepultura days where he's utterly thrash galore. But on 'Roots' is where his strange where his writing went opposed to 'Beneath The Remains' and 'Arise'. I think the expectation is a new Sepultura here with Max but it's so not. Don't expect that at all. For Soulfly fans, this is a keeper! (Death8699)

(Nuclear Blast - 2022)
Score: 74

https://www.soulfly.com/totem

The Decemberists - What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World

#PER CHI AMA: Indie Folk Rock

È tassativo non offuscare l'elemento di maggior fascinazione, vale a dire il nitore del songwriting di Meloy. Occorrono arrangiamenti accuratissimi ma trasparenti ("Spectoriani", li definisce giustamente qualcuno). Si spazia quindi dal pop-piano-da-radio (l'inspiegabile singolo "Make You Better") a certe caciare indie-'90 alla R.E.M. ("The Wrong Year"), al doo-wop pruriginoso mid-'60 ("Philomena") al "gospel bianco da convention democratica" (la definizione è sempre di quel qualcuno) della cripto-biografica "The Singer Addresses His Audience" (da confrontare con "Anathema" degli Anathema), alle dolenti e austere "Till the Water is All Long Gone" e "Carolina Low", collocabili tra i Dire Straits di 'Private Investigation' e il Roger Waters di 'Each Small Candle'. Buona parte dell'ultima facciata del vinile (la terza) sembra una sorta di doveroso tributo al folk di Dylan e Young, cui Meloy deve sicuramente molto più di una cena costosa. (Alberto Calorosi)

(Capitol Records - 2015)
Voto: 80

https://www.decemberists.com/