M-Theory Audio

Woe Unto Me, Along the Meandering Ordeals, Reshape the Pivot of Harmony (M-Theory 2023)

Wayne Edwards, , , ,

Funeral doom band Woe Unto Me investigate sorrow on their third full-length album, Along the Meandering Ordeals, Reshape the Pivot of Harmony.

Woe Unto Me formed in Belarus in 2007. Their music is fascinating for the surprisingly variety of influences it reflects – after all, funeral doom does not often stretch out in many directions. One of the driving forces of Woe Unto Me, Artyom Serdyuk, describes the album this way: “Musically the new record is the continuation of our movement into more progressive realms of doom metal. This is not a typical funeral doom or death-doom, but it contains the elements of all kinds of doom metal sub-genres.” Indeed. The variety of vocal presentations alone is impressive and unmatched by other bands. Yes, this one is something different.

The album has five long tracks, all individually over twelve minutes in length. “Mired Down In The Innermost Thicket” – the title describes the music well. You do feel caught in the opening bars of the music, mired. You want to move, you are trying, but you are held down. Sorrow and sadness surrounds you, and that is why you want to get away, but then you can only see more sorrow in every direction. How much better off will you really be over there? The songs show off the vocal range of the group with melodic and rough vocalizations, spoken and sung emanations. It is a darkly beautiful piece. “Spiral-Shaped Hopewreck” brings melodic singing out first, and the pace is greater at the beginning than the previous track. Prog elements become clear in this one, and it has a genuinely haunting cooldown at the end. “Deep Beneath The Burden” walks an odd line, with lashing waves of sound pulsating all around such soft and gentle primaries. It mixes your feelings, leaving them all there individually and at the same time requiring them to relate to each other.

“Blood-Black Nothingness Stops Spinning” invokes notions of quest and spiritual deliberations. The music turns darker a few minutes in, and the permeating doom returns, as you knew it would. The final movement is “The Great Waste Of Withered Pipedreams.” To me, the music in this piece is the most actively menacing. It is unsettling, even frightening. The elements we have experienced before return, but they are armed differently, shrouded more darkly. I like every song on the album, and this last one is my favorite. The doom I hear on this record is different than what I am accustomed to, and its dark appeal will have a lasting impact. Highly recommended.

Along the Meandering Ordeals, Reshape the Pivot of Harmony is out on Friday, March 24th through M-Theory Audio. Have a look at the links below.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://woeuntome.bandcamp.com/album/along-the-meandering-ordeals-reshape-the-pivot-of-harmony

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

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

© Wayne Edwards

Woe Unto Me, Along the Meandering Ordeals, Reshape the Pivot of Harmony (M-Theory 2023)

Black Royal, Earthbound (M-Theory Audio 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , ,

The third full-length album from Finland’s Black Royal is heavy enough to flatten the planet: Earthbound.

Black Royal opened their books in Tampere, Finland in 2013. Over the course of several years they released a string of singles and a couple of EPs on the way to their debut long player, Lightbringer, in 2018. Firebride came two years later, and now we have the latest. You could describe the music as death metal or doom, and really it is an enmeshing of these forms with unique other elements that give Black Royal their unrivaled sound. The Metal Archives tells us the band is Jukka (drums), Toni (guitar), Riku (vocals), and Pete (bass).

The opening track is “Earthbound,” a song made of heavy enough metal to smash flat the crustiest obstacle. Huge dooming guitars and coarse growls erect a massive wall of sound that knocks you back. “Ghosts of the Dead” picks up the pace and shakes the dust off with a forceful charge. The song has a sorrowful center surrounded by impenetrable cliffs of metal. “Conjuration” continues the rampage, sounding like a warning we are unlikely to heed. There is a great grooving hook in there that keeps everything moving along at pace.

The entire album has a raging metal pulse. I particularly appreciate “13th Moon” for its solid kicks that just keep coming, and “Bleed Your Soul” as an opposing force for its stark solitude conveyed up front and continuingly even with the chomping rhythm throughout the song. “Queen of the Underworld,” too, is a great doom song. The record ends with “Rite of Passage,” fittingly the longest track of the set. It has a disarming setup and a crushing finish that is satisfying and haunting. Good work all around. Recommended.

Earthbound hits the streets on Friday, October 21st through M-Theory Audio. Have a look at the links below.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://blackroyal.bandcamp.com/album/earthbound

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

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

© Wayne Edwards

Black Royal, Earthbound (M-Theory Audio 2022)

Mantic Ritual, Heart Set Stone (M-Theory Audio 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , ,

The new EP from Pittsburgh originals Mantic Ritual has three new songs and three covers: Heart Set Stone.

Mantic Ritual began in Pittsburgh in 2005, operating for the first couple of years as Meltdown. They play thrash in a fundamental form, observing the integrity of the past while sharpening their methods for the world of today. The full-length album Executioner came out in 2009 and things have been on the quiet side since then, recording-wise. The band split for a while, but they are back at it now. The line-up is Dan Wetmore (vocals, guitar), Jeff Potts (guitar), Ben Mottsman (bass), and Carlos Cruz (drums).

There are three new songs on the EP and three covers. Let’s start with the new ones. “Life as Usual” is a blazingly speedy attack that chargers directly at you. At times clippy, and at other times whirling, the riffs are energetic and intrusive. The lead break is deadly effective. “Crusader,” released earlier as a single, is a longer piece compared to the opening smash-and-grab track. What you get is more time for execution along a similar primary theme. The extra attention to guitar work pays off in a big way. The third original is the title track, a breathless testing of all surrounding waters. There is a lot going on with this song; they mopped every corner. The performance fulfills any thrash expectation. It’s a big ride.

The covers are “Race Against Time,” a G.B.H. tune, the Mercyful Fate standard “Black Funeral,” and Razor’s “Cross Me Fool.” That’s a punk hit, a dark metal classic, and a speed metal rager. In each case we hear an impressive run at the style and substance of the original creators, making the homage all the more poignant. I particularly liked the Mercyful Fate take. Good stuff, this record. Recommended.

Heart Set Stone is out on Friday, September 2nd through M-Theory Audio.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://manticritualthrash.bandcamp.com/album/heart-set-stone

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

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

© Wayne Edwards

Mantic Ritual, Heart Set Stone (M-Theory Audio 2022)

Mantic Ritual, Crusader (M-Theory Audio 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , ,

Mantic Ritual release a new 7-inch with hints of more music to come later this year.

The history of Mantic Ritual is incomplete. We know they formed under a different name around 2005 and that they released a full-length album through Nuclear Blast in 2009 called Executioner. They did a good deal of notable touring and then the original lineup split up around 2010.

Reforming in just last year or so, the new group includes originals Dan Wetmore (vocals, guitar), Jeff Potts (guitar), and Ben Mottsman (bass), with now Carlos Cruz (drums) joining the mix. It looks like they are planning to put out more music later this year, and right now we have a new song and a classic cover.

“Crusader” is the new one and it flat out rips. The charging primary riff is an elemental force of nature. Traditional heavy metal frameworks get a new hammering here, and the lead work is a treat. The vocals are clear and strong – this is everything a heavy metal song should be.

The other song is a cover of the Mercyful Fate classic “Black Funeral.” The music is faithful to the original (with some modern enhancements) and the vocals track King Diamond’s style. It is a welcome homage.

If this single is any indication of the future music to come from Mantic Ritual, then we are all in for a great ride. Recommended.

Crusader is out through M-Theory Audio on Friday, January 28th. Hit the links below for more info and for ordering options.

Links.

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

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

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

Mantic Ritual, Crusader (M-Theory Audio 2022)

The Sonic Overlords, Last Days of Babylon (M-Theory Audio 2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , ,

The debut album from Sweden’s The Sonic Overlords rumbles and shakes and vibrates its way into your personal space.

The Sonic Overlords are a new band, having come together in just the past couple years. Their music pays tribute to classic metal and extends the reach of the originist ideas by expanding the paradigm without breaking it. Other bands have tried to do this too but The Sonic Overlords actually pull it off. The band is Marcus Zachrisson Rubin (vocals), Morgan Zocek (guitars), Per Soläng (drums), and Daniel Ramírez (bass).

The first track, “Utopia,” is reminiscent of the Rainbow standard “The Gates of Babylon” in its esoteric warble but not so much in its fundamental construction, which relies on a different fundamental structure. A little bit later in the album, “Fools” has a very clever heavy riff that puts a unique torsion on a standard framing. This sort of accustoming is an enterprise at which The Sonic Overlords excel.

You can hear the doom metal come out on tracks like “Lords of Tomorrow.” Here again the path is a crooked one as heavy, slow doom guitar riffs partner with a melodic vocal and are taken to the next level by lead work worthy of Candlemass. All manner of variations can be heard throughout, as in “Sands of Time” with its latter-80s Iommi-ness and “Children of the Night” with its hard-hitting, churning rhythm that delivers a deep feeling of inevitability.

Everywhere you turn and everything you hear on this album brings a sense of breakthrough that coexists with familiarity. It is an excellent metal album. Recommended.

Last Days Of Babylon is out now through M-Theory Audio in the standard formats. The CD version features a guest appearance by Tony Martin who sings on “Past the End of Time,” a bonus track that is a reworked rendition of “Sands of Time.”

Links.

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

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

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

The Sonic Overlords, Last Days of Babylon (M-Theory Audio 2021)

Headless, Square One (M-Theory Audio 2021)

Wayne Edwards, ,

The fifth album from Headless is a welcome return of catchy guitar-driven European hard rock.

Headless is a group formed of veteran rockers from well-known bands. The music is perhaps best described as hard rock, and it is reminiscent of 1980s and 1990s work from acts like Queensrÿche, with a less serious perspective, perhaps, and with more emphasis on the melodic. The band is Göran Edman (vocals), Walter Cianciusi (guitar), Dario Parente (guitar), Martin Helmantel (bass), and Enrico Cianciusi (drums).

The set’s first song, “A Leaf’s Flight Path,” starts off very slowly and quietly, building to a harder-edged rock song by the halfway point with compelling guitar work. In fact, when I think back on this album it is the guitar that comes first to mind. The mature compositions are a pleasure to listen to, and Edman has a compelling voice. Those guitars parts, though, they really stay with you.

Songs that stuck my head include “Backseat Rhythm,” “Langeweile,” and “Streetlight Buzz.” These tracks are very different, one to the next, but they all have a way of engaging my neurons that sets in a permanent placeholder. The guitar, sure, like I said already, but also the design of each of these songs has a deliberate construction to achieve a particular aim, a specific mood and feeling. The result is unswervingly captivating. Whenever I next have a feeling for this lane of rock I’ll be scrolling for Headless. Recommended.

Square One is out on Friday, September 24th through M-Theory Audio. Check out the links below.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://headless-official.bandcamp.com/

Headless website, http://www.headlessofficial.com/wordpress/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/headless.italy/

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

Headless, Square One (M-Theory Audio 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)

Mordred, The Dark Parade (M-Theory Audio 2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , , , ,

New music from Mordred is cause for celebration – witness The Dark Parade.

Mordred is a legendary Bay Area band that made a big splash when they came together 1980s. Their first album, Fool’s Game, hit the streets in 1989, followed by In This Life (1991) and The Next Room (1994). After that, there was a resting period for a few years. The band came back together and toured in the early 2000s, then again about ten years later. Since 1994, though, they did not release any new music until last year’s EP, Volition. And now there is the new long-player, The Dark Parade.

The music is heavy, riffy, hooky funk metal with a thrashing sensibility. The eight tracks on the new album all burn high-test fuel, bursting and cracking with energy and enthusiasm. The subjects themselves are not light-hearted – there is “Dragging For Bodies” as one example and the title track for another. Grim tidings grooving in on cross-over thrash jams.

I cannot think of other bands to compare Mordred with that would really tell you anything useful about them. I have already listed a long menu of aspects of their music, but it is not like they are all just thrown in a pot and heated up. This music really is its own thing, carefully constructed and genuinely unique.

The legend of the band will live on, of course; it will always be there. I would give this new album unencumbered consideration, though, not looking for glimpses and flashes of the past but instead embracing everything about what this music is now, because it is incredible. Highly recommended.

M-Theory Audio has The Dark Parade coming out on Friday, July 23rd. Preorders are available now through the label and at Bandcamp.

Links,

Bandcamp, https://mordred.bandcamp.com/album/the-dark-parade

Mordred website, https://mordred.company.site/

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

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

Mordred, The Dark Parade (M-Theory Audio 2021)

The Absence, Coffinized (M-Theory Audio 2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , ,

The fifth album from Tampa, Florida metalists The Absence is a tour of dark imaginings.

Melodic Death Metal is a popular lane for heavy music these days, and one of the premiere bands creating it is The Absence. For nearly twenty years and through four previous albums, The Absence has charted its way through the mire of possibilities by producing music exactly the way they wanted to, and fans have responded. Now comes Coffinized, another chapter in the band’s growing legacy.

The album opens with the title track, and it is a dismal wind blowing arctic devastation that at first seems like a dirge but soon enough starts swinging a metal hammer. The compositional approach is compartmentalized ideas stitched seamlessly together that will turn you this way and that until the disequilibrium makes you see the truth in the void.

“Future Terminal” has a clever and catchy vocal/guitar duet in a the chorus that stays with you after the close, as does the explanatory lead break near the middle. The songs are heavy and driving, fast and churning. “Choirs of Sickness” is incredible in the way it establishes drama, while a song like “Black Providence” is much more eerie and sinister in its approach. “Discordia” screeches and “Faith In Uncreation” delivers speed and depth (and has a truly bizarre ending after a few moments of silence – it is better if you just hear it without me describing it in advance).

Every song is its own microcosm while being undeniably a part of the greater whole. I have listened to The Absence consistently through the years and always liked their music. This new album reinvigorates my interest and takes it to a new level. Recommended.

Coffinized comes out tomorrow, Friday, June 25th from M-Theory Audio.

Links.

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

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

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

The Absence, Coffinized (M-Theory Audio 2021)

Silver Talon, Decadence And Decay (M-Theory Audio 2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , , ,

The first full-length album from dark power metal band Silver Talon is an epic attack on your senses.

With a sound as big and complete as Silver Talon produces, Decadence And Decay is a promising sign of what we hope will turn out to be a long string of mesmerizing albums. The band is unusually large, with three listed guitarists: Wyatt Howell (vocals), Bryce VanHoosen (guitar), Sebastian Silva (guitar), Devon Miller (guitar), Walter Hartzell (bass), and Michael Thompson (drums). They make the most of all these assets in the performance of their sweeping compositions.

The music the band creates is usually described as Power Metal but that does not catch all the aspects of Silver Talon. The precision of the lead guitar – and the astonishing speed – has to be heard to be believed. There are many prog elements here, too, with complex parts working together to achieve a greater whole. Wyatt Howell’s vocals press to the soaring in a broad range. The rhythm section is at times in the service of the meter and at other moments a whirling inclination of its own. Taken together, the effect can be overwhelming.

The lyrical themes are often dark fantasy and breathe the essence of large gathered forces in conflict. The eight songs on the album average in the five minute range giving plenty of opportunity for extension and expression. The epic closer, “Touch The Void,” runs over eight minutes at the end and has the full complement of entreaties. It is essentially a suite, and it tests the highs and lows, the speeds and slows. If you are looking for spacious metal with both straight-forward and complex compartments, you will be glad you found Silver Talon. Recommended.

Digital, CD, cassette, and vinyl versions become available from M-Theory Audio on Friday, May 28th.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://silvertalon.bandcamp.com/album/decadence-and-decay-2

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

Silver Talon website, https://www.silver-talon.com/

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

Silver Talon, Decadence And Decay (M-Theory Audio 2021)