Germany

Voidhaven, Lithic (Ardua 2023)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , ,

German doom metal band Voidhaven release their first full-length album, Lithic.

Voidhaven started out eight years ago in Hamburg, Germany. They are a doom band that infuses a doses of death metal into the mix. Prior to the new album, all we had to listen to was the two-song self-titled EP that came out in 2018. In that sense Voidhaven a band of mystery – unless you have seen them live, you don’t know what their music sounds like. The musicians are Simon Schorneck (vocals, guitar), Phil Kruppa (guitar), Marcos Lege (keys), Jakob Gozdzielewski (bass), and Norman Müller (drums).

There are six big tracks on the new album. First up, “Resting on Tombs.” The music is somber and almost mournful to begin with, in sort of a melodic doom kind of way. The heavy guitar riffs get more serious soon enough, and we hear the vocals step in, rough yet decipherable. Quietening bars come back and then the music shifts toward a reflective piano, with sounds of destruction in the distance, a voiceover, and finally back to the established earlier presence. It is quite a journey. “Sermon of Scorn” has many of the same elements, but it is more mysterious, more otherworldly. High marks for that. “To Walk Among Ghosts” finishes the side, and it is the clearest presentation of doom so far. Melodic vocals give a funereal, hymnal feeling, and deepen the impression of finality. It is an excellent song – my favorite on the album.

“The Everblazing Picture” fits in with the others, and has an expansive burst toward the end. “The Desolate Throne,” on the other hand, is more reserved and serious, with grand expressions. “Something Cruel Within” brings the set to a close. The vocals emit suffocated suffering and the placing of the shifts and changes barely rescues you in time. The keys here are even more expressive, and the death metal elements are honed to match the hopelessness of the adjoining music. Well done. Recommended.

Lithic descends upon our planet on Friday, June 9th through Ardua Music. Get yours at the links below.

Links.

Voidhaven website, http://voidhaven.de/

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

Ardua Music, https://www.arduamusic.com/

© Wayne Edwards

Voidhaven, Lithic (Ardua 2023)

Thron, Dust (Listenable 2023)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , ,

German death metal band Thron crack on with their fourth album, Dust.

Formed in 2015, Thron is a band of mystery. I read a recent list of the musicians in the band as this: Samca (vocals), PVIII (guitars), SII (guitars), SXIII (bass), and CII (drums). So, there you go. I think of the band as progressive death metal, but you can see many elements in their composition. The music on their new album is described this way in the press blurb: “With Dust, [they] incorporate new elements in their sound by going back to their very roots which lie in the early 80s when bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Mercyful Fate ruled the field, and at the same time taking inspiration from the 90s when bands like Tiamat, Edge of Sanity or Sentenced expanded their horizon. This combined with serious dedication to the glorious Progressive Rock dinosaurs of the 70s and the love for the dark extreme musical arts with blasting fury and aggressive vocals…” Does that clear things up? Let’s listen in.

“Dying In The Mud” holds nothing back, starting with a broad sound and deploying forcefully along the main lines. The music is death metal, presented in a formal and polished fashion. The gruffness comes in with the vocals, and as the song progresses, it becomes more aggressive. The lead guitar work is campaign-like, resolved to do its work over time. “Return…” has been released as a video already, and it blasts its way through all obstacles. Tough and surging, this music has a purpose. Then comes “The True Belief,” and its posture is more measured, you might say more serious in tone than battering. The vocals are talkative as the guitars begin scaling and the pressure rises. Very nicely done, and the album is only getting going.

The overall impression I get from this music is that the legitimate death metal is made approachable by the varying set-ups and divergences. You are kept guessing throughout, and yet you are always rewarded with each new take. There are a couple of bonus tracks, “Into Oblivion” and “The Tyranny Of I,” that appear only on the CD and download versions. Keep that in mind, but in the end, whichever way you go on format, you can’t lose. Recommended.

Dust is out on Friday, March 31st through Listenable Records on digital, cassette, CD, and vinyl. Shop at the links below.

Band photo by Thomas Rossi.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://listenable-records.bandcamp.com/album/dust

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

Listenable Records, https://shop-listenable.net/en/

© Wayne Edwards

Thron, Dust (Listenable 2023)

Downfall Of Gaia, Silhouettes Of Disgust (Metal Blade 2023)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , ,

German post-black metal band Downfall Of Gaia warp the continuum on their new album, Silhouettes Of Disgust.

Since 2008, Downfall Of Gaia has been growing and changing in both their sound and compositional attitude. Described in many different ways from sludge to crust to atmospheric post-black metal, their music is deeply rewarding to those who can hear it. They have released five full-length albums before Silhouettes Of Disgust, with a couple of splits, an EP, and a demo along the way as well. The band is Dominik Goncalves dos Reis (vocals, guitar), Peter Wolff (guitar, vocals), Anton Lisovoj (bass, vocals), and Michael Kadnar (drums).

Talking about the new album, dos Reis tells us, “With this record we wanted to return to our roots and the earlier days, but without taking a step back. We wanted to incorporate both worlds into our new album, where we came from – the DIY/crust punk scene – and the direction things have taken over the past few years, organically growing from release to release.” If you are a fan of Downfall Of Gaia, that will make perfect sense to you.

“Existence of Awe” leads the way with a direct and immediate assault on your senses by battering percussion and trilling riffs. Melodic elements can be heard operating over the same period but on a different cycle. The pieces together are like layers in an oil painting. You do not necessary hear every bit discretely at any given moment, but you do experience them all simultaneously. “The Whir of Flies” offers slapping percussion, which is quite visceral and intimate. After significant dosing, the tempo shifts and the music breaks off in a different direction, then speeds and slows throughout. At the halfway point, the song drifts into space, then sinks into a cavernous depth toward the end. It is quite a journey.

Over the course of the set, many ideas reenter in both the same and in differentiated ways. Brutality tag-teams melody, and the reverse. Songs are never one thing. Each is complex with numerous features and reflections. Every song is an example of this, but “Bodies as Driftwood” does it especially well, to my ears, because of its compactness. The final word on the album, “Optograms of Disgust,” will attract your notice, too, for its unshakeable dark beauty, its strength and resilience. Recommended.

Silhouettes Of Disgust is out now through Metal Blade Records in may forms. Examine the possibilities at the links below.

Links.

Downfall of Gaia website, http://downfallofgaia.com/

Bandcamp, https://downfallofgaia.bandcamp.com/album/silhouettes-of-disgust

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

Metal Blade Records, https://www.metalblade.com/europe/artists/downfall-of-gaia/

© Wayne Edwards

Downfall Of Gaia, Silhouettes Of Disgust (Metal Blade 2023)

Ahab, The Coral Tombs (Napalm 2023)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , ,

Extreme doom metal band Ahab drags you beneath the waves and shows you horrors on their latest album, The Coral Tombs.

It all began in Germany in 2004. Ahab arose. The music they create is typically categorized as funeral doom, but that does not capture it very well. I don’t dispute the description. I simply think that their music covers considerably more ground (or sea, as the case may be) than you might expect from the typical funeral doom band. Besides that, the narrative theme is specific and sweeping, especially on the new album, which is the fifth long-player from the band, marking their nineteenth year in existence. Ahab is Cornelius Althammer (drums, Daniel Droste (vocals, guitar), Christian Hector (guitar), and Stephan Wandernoth (bass).

“Prof. Arronax’ Descent Into The Vast Oceans” is a long story. It starts out shrieking, then goes suddenly dead quiet. A funeral doom pace ensues, but the music itself is more lyrical than you might expect for that genre. Enormous oppressive guitar riffs do slowly emerge, threatening to overwhelm the movement. Instead, there is a long guitar soliloquy. “Colossus Of The Liquid Graves” comes next and presents for all the world as a deep sea terror tale in sound and action. The vocal croak comes from a humungous beast at depth, and the clear singing that follows might be from a doomed soul. You start to feel an entrenchment of evil in this music, and it is a feeling that only deepens as you wind your way through the tracks that follow.

The first two songs put you through the wringer and there is still fifty minutes to go. Epic mysticism is in store for you on “Mobilis In Mobile,” and the drowning of hope is inevitable on “A Coral Tomb.” The writing might very well be on the seafloor but still there is no avoiding the magnificent conclusion voiced in “The Mælstrom.” The music is expansive, existing in a realm not often traversed by bands, no matter how heavy. Recommended.

The Coral Tombs is out now through Napalm Records. Press the links below to harvest it.

Band photo by Stefan Heilemann.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://ahab.bandcamp.com/album/the-coral-tombs

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

Napalm Records, https://label.napalmrecords.com/ahab

© Wayne Edwards

Ahab, The Coral Tombs (Napalm 2023)

Sinister Downfall, The Last Witness (Funere 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , ,

Sinister Downfall adds to the funeral doom procession with The Last Witness.

Sinister Downfall is peopled entirely by Eugen Kohl. I do not come across one-man funeral doom bands very often – more commonly, singular acts are instantiations of black metal. It is the music that matters though, no matter how it is created. So far, Kohl has released two previous long-players under the Sinister Downfall banner, Eremozoic (2018) and A Dark Shining Light (2020).

There are five tracks on the new album, the shortest of which is eight and a half minutes long. That’s a good start. Of course, it is not merely the length of the track that matters, but doom and particularly funeral doom work well in the long form. “Souls Enslaved” begins with a forlorn piano heralding the inevitable crush of massive doom guitar riffs followed on the queue by equally heavy vocals. The invoked dread is palpable and sustained. It is wonderfully dark music. “Into The Cold Ground” continues the expression, opening up the piano in a more active role. You wouldn’t say that the song is a surprise, but it is a willful engagement. Side one ends on “Eyes Forever Closed,” and there is an escalation of the sentiment that peaks in the vocals, followed by a long cooldown and a crescendo for the finale.

The second half of the set is two quarter-hour pieces, “Marble Slab” and “The Last Witness.” Both of these songs could be stand-alone releases, soaked as they are in dark, hopeless beauty. I favor the former, and I have listened to it several times by itself after the album ran its course. This set is going in my library, and I will hear it again and again. I did not know about Sinister Downfall before hearing this album, but the music is now forever in my book of doom. Recommended.

The Last Witness is out now through Funere on CD and digital. Enter the realm through the links below.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://sinisterdownfall.bandcamp.com/album/the-last-witness

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

Funere, https://vk.com/funere

© Wayne Edwards

Sinister Downfall, The Last Witness (Funere 2022)

Acid Blade, Power Dive (Personal Records 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , ,

The first full-length album from Acid Blade breathes fire and stomps the terra: Power Dive.

Acid Blade is a heavy metal band from Dresden, Germany who play in a classic metal style at an elevated tempo. They started out in 2019 as Angel Blade, releasing a demo and a split with Venator over the course of a year. Changing their name in 2021, they put out one more demo and now Power Dive, their first full-length album. The band is Sci-Man (bass), Eric Nukem (drums), Alvin Goreman (guitar), Luke Lethal (guitar), Klay Mensana (vocals).

The music starts with a clomping riff on “Hot Bloods on the Loose,” leading to a rising, then soaring, vocal as the tempo changes. Moving past formative hard rock and metal into speed metal, the general echoing you hear brings on waves of nostalgia. “Ablaze at Midnight” is another barn burner. You could say it is stepped down a touch, but more importantly it rolls out a long lead guitar part that turns into the off ramp for the song, reproducing a maneuver that I used to hear regularly but haven’t noticed for some time now. The title track takes the third spot, and it has steady, anticipation-inducing build toward the big break out. After that, it’s off to the races.

The 1980s metal style is ever-present throughout the record, and it is the defining characteristic of the music. Even if this is not your go-to metal vein, Mensana’s vocals are compelling and the guitar work is impeccable, so it is worth dipping your toe in. The music has many fascinating innovations, as you will hear in the eerie middle ground of “Into the Light” and the otherworldly insight of “The Tomb of Khentika Ikheki,” a song that will pong around in your brain for a good long while. There is even a power ballad, “Moonless Night,” for those of you who miss that long-time standard. Something for everyone, you might say. Recommended.

Power Dive is out now on digital and will be released on CD by Personal Records on Friday, December 2nd. Get the facts at the links below.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://acidblade.bandcamp.com/album/power-dive

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/acidblade.rock/

Personal Records, https://www.personal-records.com/

© Wayne Edwards

Acid Blade, Power Dive (Personal Records 2022)

Photo Gallery: Accept at The King Of Clubs, Columbus, October 29, 2022

Wayne Edwards, , , , , ,

Accept made a Midwest stop at The King Of Clubs in Columbus on their Too Mean To Die Tour last weekend. Here are a few photos that were not in the main article.

Photos by Wayne Edwards.

Links.

Accept, https://www.acceptworldwide.com/

FFMB article on the show, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2022/11/03/accept-at-the-king-of-clubs-columbus-october-29-2022/

The King Of Clubs, https://www.tkoc.live/

Nuclear Blast Records, https://label.nuclearblast.com/en/music/band/about/71028.accept.html

© Wayne Edwards

Photo Gallery: Accept at The King Of Clubs, Columbus, October 29, 2022

Mercyful Fate at The Andrew J. Brady Music Center, November 4, 2022

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , , ,

Mercyful Fate, Kreator, and Midnight took the stage in Cincinnati down by the river at the Andrew J. Brady Music Center last Friday night, and the place might never be the same.

Mercyful Fate

One of my earliest European metal fascinations was Mercyful Fate. I jumped on with the Melissa (1983) album. At the time, you could still get the even earlier self-titled EP, so I did that – wish I still had it. Those two records and the almost-equally engaging Don’t Break The Oath (1984) kept me company in my formative years. Vocalist King Diamond left the band and it split up right afterward. A decade later, Mercyful Fate was at it again. During the nineties, several more albums came, and the sound was a little different. I always thought that King Diamond’s solo albums were more like the original Mercyful Fate than the nineties albums. In any case, there hasn’t been anything from Mercyful Fate since before the new millennium.

For these reasons and many more, I was thrilled to go to Psycho Las Vegas this year and see Mercyful Fate together again. Michael Denner is not with the band now, but Hank Shermann is, and, of course, King Diamond. It is Mercyful Fate.

The night started with the masked trio, Midnight. In the studio, Midnight is the one-man band Jamie Althenar Walters. Live they play a speedy brand of black metal that fits right in with Kreator and Mercyful Fate. I have really liked the last two records from Midnight, so it was great to see him and them live.

Midnight

The middle slot was held by the German thrash band Kreator. The legend of the band stretches back forty years. Here we have another example of a band I have listened to for decades but somehow never saw live. I have been on their trail for some time and finally caught up with them. Their performance smoked, and I was especially glad to hear the title track from their new album Hate Über Alles.

Kreator

As I mentioned, I saw Mercyful Fate a couple months ago in Las Vegas and, of course, it was basically the same set and show in Cincinnati. In other words, it was mind-blowingly incredible. If I could, I would be at every stop on the tour because I am a long-time fan, but also because the performance is just so good.

King Diamond
Mercyful Fate

King Diamond, Hank Shermann, Mike Mead, Bjarne T. Holm, and, filling in on bass for the tour, Becky Baldwin, laid down the law for an hour and a half. They played my absolute favorites “A Corpse Without A Soul,” Curse of the Pharaohs,” and “Black Funeral,” and a half a dozen other songs from the early albums that were instantly recognizable. They also performed a new piece, “The Jackal of Salzburg,” reinforcing the word on the street that another album is in the works.

Mercyful Fate
Mercyful Fate

There is still time to catch the tour. There are not very many dates on this leg, but there are (at this writing) still six more chances to see the show. Check out the tour poster below for details and grab your tickets if any remain. There is no knowing whether there will ever be another Mercyful Fate tour so don’t put this one off because once you see it, it will live with you for the rest of your time.

Photos by Wayne Edwards.

Links.

Mercyful Fate, https://mercyfulfatecoven.com/

Kreator, https://www.kreator-terrorzone.de/

Midnight, https://totalmidnight.webs.com/

The Andrew J. Brady Music Center, https://bradymusiccenter.com/

Metal Blade Records, https://www.metalblade.com/us/

Photo Galleries.

Mercyful Fate, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2022/11/08/photo-gallery-mercyful-fate-cincinnati-november-4-2022/

Kreator, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2022/11/08/photo-gallery-kreator-cincinnati-november-4-2022/

Midnight, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2022/11/08/photo-gallery-midnight-cincinnati-november-4-2022/

© Wayne Edwards

Mercyful Fate at The Andrew J. Brady Music Center, November 4, 2022

Accept at The King Of Clubs, Columbus, October 29, 2022

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , , , ,

Accept made a Midwest stop at The King Of Clubs in Columbus on their Too Mean To Die Tour last weekend.

Accept

German heavy metal legends Accept wrapped up the US leg of their Too Mean To Die Tour last weekend in Columbus, Ohio at The King Of Clubs. I can’t say enough about Accept, but then I probably don’t have to say anything – metal fans know them well. They were one of the first bands I listened to back in the day after the formative trinity I always talk about (Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, and Blue Oyster Cult). Their big hit then was “Balls To The Wall,” and they are still remembered for it. Ironically, as fun as that tune is, it doesn’t really represent their music very well in general. Accept has laid down unforgettable heavy metal for more than four decades across sixteen albums, including their latest one that the tour is named for. There is no dispute about their place in metal history.

Day of the Sun
Day of the Sun

The show started with two local bands, Day of the Sun and Corrosive Vengeance. Day of the Sun has a classic approach to hard rock in their performance, focusing on vocal delivery and cooking rhythm. Corrosive Vengeance is a little more out there, riding the rails of groove metal and tossing in disruptive calamity now and again. Both sets were excellent, and I am going to have to keep an eye out for these bands while I am exiled here in the middle of the country because now I know they put on a good show.

Corrosive Vengeance
Corrosive Vengeance

Narcotic Wasteland was on the full US tour leg with Accept. The band started out over a decade ago in the coastal south, and they have put out a couple of albums, most recently Delirium Tremens (2017). Their music is a sharp brand of death metal that cranks and heaves. They have put out two new singles this year, and they played them both at the show. That must mean there is a new album in the works.

Narcotic Wasteland
Narcotic Wasteland

The main event was Accept, a band I have been trying to catch live for years. It is funny that even though I see at least 300 bands live every year there are still a handful that I am trying to catch for the first time. Most of these bands are from Europe and they do not tour all the time in the US, so that does add up in the end. Accept has been at the top of my to-do list for a while now because I have listened to them all of my life and I have really like their last few records. Starting with Blood Of The Nations in 2010 and on to Blind Rage (2014), The Rise Of Chaos (2017), and, most recently, Too Mean To Die, these albums have all been fantastic. The live show, I reasoned, would blow the roof off the place. I was right.

Accept
Accept

They started with “Zombie Apocalypse” and rolled through the hits, including chart toppers like “Metal Heart” and, of course, “Balls To The Wall.” They also played several songs from the latest record – that makes sense – and the tour favorite “Pandemic.” I had built up in my head what the show might be like, and it turned out to be even better than I expected. You don’t get a lot of good surprises in your life, but this was definitely one for me.

Accept
Accept

The 2022 tour is done for us North Americans. Accept is on tour again for many dates in Europe starting in January, and a few shows have already announced for Spring 2023 in South America. See them whenever they make their way back to our shores, and, meanwhile, check out their albums, videos, and merch at the links below.

Photos by Wayne Edwards.

Links.

Accept, https://www.acceptworldwide.com/

Narcotic Wasteland, https://narcoticwasteland.com/home

Corrosive Vengeance, https://corrosivevengence.bandcamp.com/album/fragments-of-society

Day Of The Sun, https://dayofthesunrocks.com/

The King Of Clubs, https://www.tkoc.live/

Nuclear Blast Records, https://label.nuclearblast.com/en/music/band/about/71028.accept.html

Photo Galleries.

Accept, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2022/11/10/photo-gallery-accept-at-the-king-of-clubs-columbus-october-29-2022/

Narcotic Wasteland, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2022/11/10/photo-gallery-narcotic-wasteland-at-the-king-of-clubs-columbus-october-29-2022/

Corrosive Vengeance, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2022/11/10/corrosive-vengeance-at-the-king-of-clubs-columbus-october-29-2022/

Day Of The Sun, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2022/11/10/photo-gallery-day-of-the-sun-at-the-king-of-clubs-columbus-october-29-2022/

© Wayne Edwards

Accept at The King Of Clubs, Columbus, October 29, 2022