Month: August 2021

Destruction, Live Attack (Napalm Records 2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , ,

Legendary German thrash band Destruction release a massive double live album, Live Attack.

Destruction began in the early 1980s and went through a number of stylist and line-up changes over the years. To me and their legions of fans they are a thrash band. If you take a look at their discography it is a little overwhelming. So many long-players, splits, and live albums. Destruction has been a fundamental metal force for decades and they never experienced much of a lull that they didn’t bounce right back from with renewed energy.

Recently, founding guitarist Mike Sifringer left Destruction suddenly and was replaced by Martin Furia, who appears on the newly released single “State of Apathy.” As earth-shaking as this development was, there was never any question about Destruction continuing as a band because they still have a lot of metal in them waiting to come out. The musicians now are Schmier, Randy Black, Damir, and Martin Furia.

Live Attack has twenty rampaging tracks from their livestream performance recorded at Z7 in Pratteln, Switzerland. They play classics like “Mad Butcher” alongside newer songs such as “Born To Perish” from the recent studio album of the same name. This concert is distinct from last year’s Born To Thrash live album which was taken from a 2019 show. Both are great sets, but the big advantage to the new album is its more comprehensive scope and expansive set list. The playing is crisp and sharp, as always, and the recording capture is top-notch. I have been a thrash fan since thrash began, and I have followed Destruction all along so this new release is a must-listen for the likes for me. Recommended.

The digital version of Live Attack is out now and the vinyl will be shipping in the coming weeks. There is also a CD/Blu Ray set if you want to witness the performance.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://destruction.bandcamp.com/

Band website, https://www.destruction.de/

Napalm Records, https://www.napalmrecordsamerica.com/destruction-live-attack-black-3lp.html

Destruction, Live Attack (Napalm Records 2021)

Ruin, Spread Plague Death (Nameless Grave Records 2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , , ,

After you hear Spread Plague Death, the new Ruin album, you are definitely going to join the cult.

Ruin, also known as the Death Metal Cult, since it sprang back to life in 2015, has been cranking out the music at an alarming rate. While their preferred format is the split or EP, Spread Plague Death is the third full-length studio album, following Drown In Blood (2017) and Human Annihilation (2018). It feels like it has been a really long time since the last LP, but that’s is only because there have been so many other short-form releases in between. I am glad for this big one, not because I don’t like the EPs and splits – I do like them. It’s just good to have a bigger chunk all at once.

There are thirteen head-cracking tracks on the album, running around radio length, typically, with only one transitional piece. Vocals are creaking moans and shrieks, the guitars riffs are slammed down in granite chunks, and the machine is strung together with torrid rhythm.

Doom passages are abutted by blistering, speeding rants and the periodic sonic torques leave you withered enough to topple. The growling savagery of the vocals can best be described as appropriate when compared to the subjects of the songs and the furious tantrum of the other instruments.

Ruin’s music is for the crowd that appreciates aggressive music. There is not an enormous space for crossover appeal. You are either down with this hard-edged approach to metal or you aren’t. Count me in. Recommended.

Spread Plague Death is out now. Nameless Grave Records has the vinyl edition, cassette versions are available through Nero One Records and Death Metal Cult, and there is a CD from Goat Throne Records.

Band photo by Carmen Canchola.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://thedeathmetalcult.bandcamp.com/album/spread-plague-death

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/SPREADPLAGUEDEATH

Nameless Grave Records, https://namelessgraverecords.com/

Ruin, Spread Plague Death (Nameless Grave Records 2021)

Spirit Adrift, Forge Your Future (Century Media Records 2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , ,

The new EP from Spirit Adrift stokes the flame of perseverance with the rumble of heavy metal.

Spirit Adrift has made the most of the few years the band has been around, releasing four full-length albums since 2016, most recently 2020’s Enlightened In Eternity. The band has built a reputation for reliability and continues to produce straight-ahead rock and roll for the growing and ever-loyal fan base. I saw their live performance at Aftershock in Sacramento a couple years ago and it is certainly one of the most memorable parts of that festival for me. There is a grit and determination in the stage presence you don’t often see. They were there for the music first and foremost and that commitment came through in every note.

There are three songs on the new EP. “Forge Your Future” has a nice doom feel to it with the gentle intro and the heavy riff framing that set up a powerful vocal performance. There is a steady, unimpeded heavy metal force that propels the music forward to its sonic conclusion. “Wake Up” is more active and openly aggressive in posture while still carrying the heavy weight with a guitar-centered attack.

The third tack is “Invisible Enemy,” and it presents an epic attitude and then delivers on that promise. An old school metal structure is the foundation you could rest a battleship on and they use it to set up a big production. Halfway through there is a quiet bridge leading to a renewed energetic charge to the end. This set is another fine addition to the growing catalogue of Spirit Adrift. Recommended.

Forge Your Future is out now, limited to 1,000 units in the physical. There is a digital release as well.

Live photos by Wayne Edwards from Aftershock 2019.

Links.

Spirit Adrift website, https://www.spiritadrift.com/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/SpiritAdrift

Century Media Records, https://centurymedia.store/product/Y4CE419COMBO/spirit-adrift-forge-your-future-black-lp-digital-download

Spirit Adrift, Forge Your Future (Century Media Records 2021)

Low Flying Hawks, Fuyu (Magnetic Eye Records 2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , , , , , ,

Doomgaze duo Low Flying Hawks wrap up their trinary sequence with Fuyu.

The band is comprised of two multi-instrumentalists known mysteriously as EHA and AAL who compose the music and perform it along with select guest musicians. Kōfuku (2016) was the first installment in the trilogy, followed by Genkaku (2017). Fans have been waiting a while for the final piece but it has been worth it because Fuyu surpasses the high standard set by its predecessors.

Here is the story about the story. “ ‘Fuyu’ means ‘winter’ in Japanese, and ‘Fuyu’ is also the finale of Low Flying Hawks’ trilogy based on the ancient Greek myth of Sisyphos, King of Corinth, who was cruelly punished by the Olympian gods to eternally push a massive bolder up on a hill – only to see it slip and roll down again every time he neared the top.” Rich source material, to be sure. I don’t know if there is any resolution at the end, but there is no shortage of strife along the way.

There are seven songs on the album, most of them exceeding a comfortable radio length. The music is a tense, uncomfortable glide wherein you sometimes feel like you are about to crash and at other times think it all might come to a dead stop. It is unsettling if you try to anticipate what will come next.

My favorite passages are the heavy doom elements, as in the beginning of “Subatomic Sphere” where the guitars put you squarely in a solid groove, the vocals are mournful, and the lead work has a furtive gravity. Quiet songs like “Midnight” are often juxtaposed with harsher treatments like the title track itself, placing the listener in an ever tilting headspace. And then there are songs like “Caustic Wing,” my favorite on the album, that can be experienced as mini epics unto themselves even while fitting tightly in with the greater whole. I think this new album from Low Flying Hawks is their best so far. Recommended.

Out tomorrow, August 27th, through Magnetic Eye Records, Fuyu is at once modern and legendary. Check it out for yourself.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://lowflyinghawks.bandcamp.com/album/fuyu

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/Lowflyinghawks-1626755734268513/

Magnetic Eye Records, https://us.spkr.media/magnetic-eye-records/low-flying-hawks-fuyu.html

Low Flying Hawks, Fuyu (Magnetic Eye Records 2021)

Geezer Butler, Manipulations of the Mind (Sanctuary / BMG 2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , , , ,

All of Geezer Butler’s solo work has been collected in a box set, along with rarities and live tracks.

International legendary bassist Geezer Butler, one of the original members of Black Sabbath, released three solo albums over the years. The music sounded nothing like Black Sabbath at all. Instead, it was more in the Industrial Metal vein, and there was a lot of talk about this back in the day because, maybe, fans wanted to something more like what they’d heard before. Take these albums on their own terms instead and you will find a treasure trove of heavy music.

The three separate albums originally were released under three different band names, G//Z/R for Plastic Planet (1995), Geezer for Black Science (1997), and GZR for Ohmwork (2005). In the new box, the original artwork is preserved and Geezer Butler has been inserted to replace the original release band names.

There is a fourth disc in the set that contains alternate takes and demos. It also has “Beach Skeleton,” which was a bonus track on a deluxe edition of Black Science. A bigger bonus for me is the three live tracks that are also included, “Drive Boy, Shooting,” “Detective 27,” and “House of Clouds,” all originally on the Plastic Planet album. I have seen Geezer Butler perform many times with Black Sabbath and, later, with Deadland Ritual. I never did see him perform any of these songs live, however, so it is great to hear them now.

This box set is an import for US buyers. You can get it on-line at major retailers like Amazon and Target, and your favorite record store can probably order a copy for you, too. If the box is too much for you, there is also a single-disc “best of” out there now which has some tasty bits. I recommend go all in and grab the full box.

Live photos of Geezer Butler by Wayne Edwards at Aftershock 2019 performing with Deadland Ritual.

Links.

Geezer Butler website, http://www.geezerbutler.com/

YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY-qM3oNJx9E0L8UZEXPZug

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gzrmusic

Geezer Butler, Manipulations of the Mind (Sanctuary / BMG 2021)

The Slow Death, Siege (Transcending Obscurity 2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , ,

Australian atmospheric doom band The Slow Death return with their mournful fourth album, Siege.

The first album from The Slow Death was their self-titled entry in 2008, followed four years later by the aptly titled II. 2015 brought the charmed album Ark, and now Siege. They write and perform thoughtful, deliberate doom, typically in long form. The band is Mandy Andresen (vocals, keys), Stuart Prickett (guitar, keys), Yonn McLaughlin (drums), Dan Garcia (bass), and Gamaliel (vocals).

I would refer to this music as Funeral Doom, although many would find the Atmospheric Doom label more accurate, or perhaps simply more palatable. Given the subjects of the songs, the pace, and the haunting constructions, I am standing by my FD assessment.

There are four tracks on this album, two that are about twenty minutes long with the other two a bit more than half that. The first song is one of the long ones, “Tyranny.” The opening notes have a feeling of transition to them, like something has been happening for a while but we are just now becoming fully aware of it. The music is beautiful and melancholy. The first heavy guitar drop is fairly early in, about a minute and a half, and it raises the seriousness of the established emotion. There is a tempo change and then the first voice is heard, a lovely, comforting vocal and, later, a gruff one, both of which return. The narrative is fairly linear and the music moves with the story toward the solemn conclusion.

“Famine” follows, a shorter work running only about thirteen minutes. Given the title, you are not going in with hopes for a sunny afternoon. Indeed, the story is grim even as the music is compelling an uplifting – at first. The heavy, trouncing guitars and rhythm press in suddenly, conveying catastrophe and doom. Toward the end the inevitability, the fate, becomes clear, and the song ends dramatically.

“Pestilence” is Funeral Doom at the beginning the way I usually think of it: slow, dead slow; utterly hopeless. This track is the other long piece, and certainly it goes through a range of expressions and movements. The beginning passage is the one that stayed with me longest. The final song is “Ascent of the Flames” and it hit me as a sort of cool down – an opportunity to reflect on what has come before and a memorial wrap-up.

I am a fan of Funeral Doom and this sort of music has long appealed to me. As a result, I am always on the lookout for another band I can rely on to set the kind of tone I want to hear. The Slow Death has become one of my regulars and this new album is among their best. Recommended.

Siege is out from Transcending Obscurity Records on Friday, August 27th. Investigate all the possible variations in presentation at the links below.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://theslowdeathband.bandcamp.com/album/siege-atmospheric-death-doom-metal

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/theslowdeath

Transcending Obscurity, https://transcendingobscurity.aisamerch.com/

The Slow Death, Siege (Transcending Obscurity 2021)

Toxic Ruin, Nightmare Eclipse (M-Theory Audio 2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , ,

The sophomore album from Wisconsin’s Toxic Ruin is a relentless inculcation of maniacal Death and Thrash Metal.

From its beginning, Toxic Ruin put everything out like the world was riding on the outcome. Their first album, Subterranean Terror, was released in 2016 and it was a swinging heavy hammer that could dislodge any passivity or derelict insolence. An EP followed in 2018 an now Nightmare Eclipse is an all new gargantuan menace. The band is Stephen Behrendt (vocals and bass), Jacob Baneck (guitar), Blake Toltzmann (guitar), and David Miller (drums).

There are eight tracks plus a bonus ninth on Nightmare Eclipse. A blistering pace is set with the opener, “Until Everything Is Gone.” As fast as physics allows, the song runs through stalwart old school manifestations and plucks them up with incredibly precise executions. Stephen Behrendt’s vocals are a rampaging beast all their own, uncontained by any convention from the beginning to the end. “Ritual Rebirth” takes the baton and presses the ideas further, segue to the ripping single “Defiler,” a song to make your head spin and your ears ring into next week. These first fifteen minutes are an overwhelming display.

Toxic Ruin has amazing, insistent pace but the music isn’t just about speed. The compositions seek clever ways around and into places others have not tread. The pushing rhythm section and battering percussion lay the groundwork for engaging and unexpected lead guitar journeys and explosions.

The feeling of darkness and horror grips you on songs like “Voices Of Death” and “It Of The Horrid Storm” even with the latter’s more measured tempo. On “Liquor Blood Bound” there is pure adrenaline and “Nightmare Eclipse” has a more theatrical construction. Set aside your expectations and accept that Toxic Ruin is going to shake you up. Recommended.

Nightmare Eclipse is out this Friday, August 27th from M-Theory Audio. Links below.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://toxicruin.bandcamp.com/album/nightmare-eclipse-2

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/toxicruin.metal

M-Theory Audio, https://www.m-theoryaudio.com/

Toxic Ruin, Nightmare Eclipse (M-Theory Audio 2021)

Fucked Up, Year of the Horse (Tankcrimes 2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , ,

The new album from storied Canadian hardcore/punk band Fucked Up is a massive treatise of all-encompassing heavy music effluence.

The musicians (from the band’s Bandcamp page) are Damian Abraham, Jonah Falco, Mike Haliechuk, Ben Cook, Sandy Miranda, and Josh Zucker. There is a lot going on here with this band. Twenty years and more than eighty (!) recordings in, they are still innovating and exploring. Let’s stick to the “Year Of” albums from Tankcrimes to maintain a little focus.

Year of the Dragon (2014) and Year of the Snake (2017) both feature an extended primary track along with one or two shorter ancillaries. As the titles indicate, these albums are part of an “ongoing series celebrating the Chinese Zodiac.” The story that rolls through the albums covers a lot of ground and that is perhaps the point. The music also travels quite a winding path. Given the length of these compositions, it is unsurprising that they present multiple musical expressions ranging from hardcore to classical, loud and raging to quiet and lilting.

Year of the Horse is a single track that runs over ninety minutes cut up in four pieces (Acts). The four segments function very much (in my ears) like movements in long pieces of classical music. It is not only that each one of them is different compared to the others, they also have individually different variations in each local environment. There are differences in the differences, you might say.

With such a lengthy musical expression, you have to figure you are going to miss something by sampling here and there because sampling means skipping. Resist the temptation. There are parts of each Act that I like especially but I am unlikely to skip to them when listening again because it would seem truncated to me if I did. Certainly the first time you listen you have to go from beginning to end without a pause. Heavy music fans, harken: set aside an hour and a half to discover where this album finds you. It is worth it. Recommended.

The digital version of Year of the Horse has been out for a while and you can pre-order the CD and vinyl versions now at the Tankcrimes store for anticipated September and December ship dates, respectively.

Band photo by Natalie Wood.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://fuckedup.bandcamp.com/album/year-of-the-horse

Fucked Up website, https://www.fuckedup.cc/

Tankcrimes Records, http://www.tankcrimes.com/

Fucked Up, Year of the Horse (Tankcrimes 2021)

Blasphemous Creation, Forsaken Dynasty (HPGD 2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , ,

Reno’s Blasphemous Creation re-ups their album Forsaken Dynasty through Horror Pain Gore Death.

Since 2006 the band has released several long-players and EPs, churning out the thrash and death metal on the regular. Breaking the apparent hiatus that ensued in 2018, their most recent album, Forsaken Dynasty, is getting broader release with a re-issue from HPGD in 2021. There is some mystery about the line-up, but according to The Metal Archive it is Joe Aemos and Isaac Wilson while the musicians on the album in question are T. J. Laughlin (bass), Immolater (drums), and Isaac Wilson (guitar and vocals).

There are nine songs and an intro track with a voiceover that explains the storyline. It is a fascinating amalgam of Anunaki and Egyptian mythology generating “a story of blood, battle, and betrayal in a forsaken dynasty.” A kind of thrash version of Iron Maiden with death metal vocals, you might say. The story is told and metal is forged. Each song is another step toward the inevitable conclusion with raging percussion and stabbing rhythm accentuated by guitar leads all in support of the primary vocal. The thrash/death combination is a winner in this setting – the perfect vehicle to deliver the goods on such a grand and sweeping story.

There is a certain recklessness to these songs, especially the breaks, that I find very attractive. The flow often seems about to spill the banks, and sometimes it does, but before control is completely lost the ride continues down the established path. Reigning in the energy that is about to overwhelm the scene is a big part of presentation. High marks for enthusiasm and a dark brand of molten exuberance.

The drop date is Friday August 20th for Forsaken Dynasty In digital and CD formats.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/forsaken-dynasty

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/BlasphemousCreation/

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions, https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

Blasphemous Creation, Forsaken Dynasty (HPGD 2021)

Lesotho, Summer Wars (Suspended Soul Tapes & Records 2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , ,

The instrumental trio from Boston, Lesotho, conjure the heavy from thin to thick in Summer Wars.

Lesotho is Kyle Loffredo (guitar), Cliff Cazeau (bass), and Zach Ganshirt (drums). They build instrumental constructs that are carefully engineered to be aurally received in broad range. That is, different people can get very different vibes from the same songs. You could tag this music in many divergent ways from shoegaze to ambient rock to … all sorts of other labels. On their Bandcamp page, the description reads in part “heavy instrumental post-everything.” There you go.

The EP has four tracks. In each one there are passages that are quiet among others that are loud. I don’t think I can be more vague about it. The progression is the former toward the latter (and back again) three out of four times, the odd track out being my favorite, “Pride & Sorrow.” The distinction here is more data than anything else.

What sets this music apart is its ability to make the listener more receptive to the self inhabiting the shell. The beautiful, melodic passages and the rougher ones could each exist separately in isolation, but they are both better when they are intertwined.

This music can show you a path towards whatever you have been avoiding no matter what it is or why you have been ignoring it. And, of course, if you would prefer not to ponder while you listen, the music can be enjoyed in the superficial lane, too. Recommended.

Summer Wars is out on Friday, August 20th, digitally through Bandcamp. Suspended Soul Tapes & Records will have a limited physical edition later on.

Band photo by Pine Street Studios.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://lesotho.bandcamp.com/releases

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/lesothoboston

Suspended Soul website, https://www.facebook.com/SuspendedSoulTapesRecords

Lesotho, Summer Wars (Suspended Soul Tapes & Records 2021)