Metal Blade Records

Gozu, Remedy (Black Light Media 2023)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , , ,

Boston stoner metal band Gozu returns in peak form on Remedy.

Since about 2008 Gozu has been putting out fuzzy guitar-driven beauties, starting with their self-titled set in that year. It might have been 2016’s Revival that spiked their fan base, or the even more impressive Equilibrium that came out two years after that. Whenever you got on the bandwagon, you know why: it’s stoner it’s doom it’s desert it’s psych – it’s Gozu. The band is Marc Gaffney (vocals, guitar), Joseph Grotto (bass), Doug Sherman (guitar), and Seth Botos (drums).

We’ve gotten used to Gozu albums starting off with a banger and they do it again on Remedy, this time with “Tom Cruise Control.” It is punchy and fun and tongue in cheek, which we knew it would be from the title. The lead guitar break is a beauty, dissipating into a surging riff that heads toward the exit. “CLDZ” follows and is a little more laid back (in a Corrosion of Conformity kind of way) while still maintaining passages of appropriate urgency. When “Rambo 2” kicks in, you start to understand that this is going to be a heavy groove album, with tons of catchy hooks, shifts, and changes. Every song cracks a new one, or two, or three. “Joe Don Baker” sparkles with up-tempo energy while “Pillow Talk” posits a bluesy lane and still takes a long walk in, strutting its stuff.

There are all kinds of surprises in the back side, too. The band pitches a doom tent on “Ben Gazzara Loves No One” and comes out swinging in the second half. They get all spacey with “Ash” … and then flip in some killer hooks. As if that wasn’t enough, the final track is the nine-minute “The Handler.” The song has strong doom presentations in the first half, a bizarre spaciness in the second half, and a long, screechy fade out. For my money, this is another great record from the Land of Gozu. Recommended.

Remedy is out on Friday, May 19th through Black Light Media and Metal Blade Records. Touch the links below.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://gozu.bandcamp.com/album/remedy

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/GOZU666

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

Black Light Media, https://www.blacklightmediarecords.com/gozu/

© Wayne Edwards

Gozu, Remedy (Black Light Media 2023)

Cattle Decapitation, Terrasite (Metal Blade 2023)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , ,

The tenth album from death metal leaders Cattle Decapitation grabs the previously set bar and shoves it down your throat: Terrasite.

I am not sure what I was doing with myself back in 1996, but whatever it was I somehow missed the emergence of Cattle Decapitation. I didn’t start listening to them carefully until their fourth album, Humanure (2004). After that, I listened to the back catalogue and looked for each new piece. They play a complex form of death metal that fuses and moves around many separate elements, making every composition unique. I thought each new album was an achievement, and my absolute favorite is 2019’s Death Atlas. I wondered when I heard it if there was any way Cattle Decapitation would bring out another record to match it – and if they didn’t, that’d be all right because we already had Death Atlas. The band is Travis Ryan (vocals), Josh Elmore (guitar), Belisario Dimuzio (guitar), Olivier Pinard (bass), and David McGraw (drums).

What’s it all about, Terrasite? Josh Elmore tells us, “After a record like Death Atlas you have to make a turn. Everything about that album – the concept, artwork, music, etc., was a final statement. The only way to move forward is rebirth. In approaching the newest record, it was not only necessary to keep the musical trajectory the band has been aiming towards since the beginning, but also to further explore the ambient/textural elements that were part of Death Atlas.” OK. That sounds ambitious. Travis Ryan goes on to say, “I wanted to do the 180° opposite of Death Atlas. I already had the concept idea from years back and since Death Atlas was so dark and brooding, I wanted a completely opposite effect – I wanted this to take place in the daylight. I’ve always found daytime horror to be really unsettling so I wanted to make sure what was going on on the cover took place in the light of day, which also finds its place within the lyrics.” That is a wicked plan, and it has been well executed on the new album.

From the beginning, “Terrasitic Adaptation” creeps in, growing slowly to a raging swarm. The music is quite grand until about the ninety-second mark, where it explodes. The music is ferocious, like being torn apart bit by bit in the pincers of a giant insect. “We Eat Our Young” is a title that sends shivers up your spine so imagine what the music is like. Cattle Decapitation can make the concept real in your mind as you are raked by the guitars and searing vocals. The song is absolute savagery. We might expect “Scourge Of The Offspring,” then, to be a kind of retribution from the group who had been feasted upon, and you can certainly see it that way if you want to. The music is so frantic, even in the down shifts and grooves, that your nerves constantly tingle listening to it.

The new album from Cattle Decapitation is a brutal beatdown. I have to hear it a couple more times before I can put it beside, above, or below Death Atlas, but it is certainly competitive. Make sure you go all the way to the end where you will find the ten-minute epic “Just Another Body.” It is incredible that after nine punishing tracks, an even bigger one awaits at the terminus. Highly recommended.

Terrasite is out on Friday, May 12th through Metal Blade Records in many forms. Have a look around at the links below.

Band photo by Wayne Edwards.

Links.

Band website, http://cattledecapitation.com/

Bandcamp, https://cattledecapitation.bandcamp.com/album/terrasite

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

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

© Wayne Edwards

Cattle Decapitation, Terrasite (Metal Blade 2023)

Tanith, Voyage (Metal Blade 2023)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , ,

Brooklyn hard rock band Tanith are back with more 70s-inspired wonders on their second album, Voyage.

Tanith formed in 2017 out of an abiding love for 1970s rock and early heavy metal. They put out a couple of tracks on a three-way split with Freeways and Angel Sword in 2019, and in the very same year released their first long-player, In Another Time. They were definitely on a roll and then, like the rest of us, they rolled into the pandemic – or, more accurately, the pandemic rolled into them. As the shadows began to draw back from the covid situation, a second album started to brew. In 2022, suddenly, founding member Charlie Newton decided not to continue with Tanith. Persevering, the remaining musicians forged ahead and put together the incredible set that became Voyage. On the new record, Russ Tippins, known for his work in the metal band Satan, handles guitars and is joined by bassist Cindy Maynard and drummer Keith Robinson.

The first song we hear is “Snow Tiger,” and it is an accurate herald for the entire set, with a beautiful acoustic set-up followed by complex and enjoyable guitars. Vocals are traded off and harmonized between Tippins and Maynard to great effect, broadening and deepening the composition. “Falling Wizard” has a folksy feel to it in my ears, like a musical story told be traveling bards. “Olympus by Dawn” taps a Blue Öyster Cult vein and turns it to the band’s purpose – it is an elegant piece with beautiful guitar work. A fantastic start.

The album plays on, recalling the past, true, but when you try to think of which band the music might sound like, you realize that these songs are their own thing. Sure, I heard a BÖC echo in there on a song or two, but that is an homage and not the only fundament. This is new music, and it rocks from the opening track to the closer, “Never Look Back.” I love this album. Highly recommended.

Voyage is out through Metal Blade Records on Friday, April 21st. Have a look at the links below.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://tanithnyc.bandcamp.com/album/voyage

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

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

© Wayne Edwards

Tanith, Voyage (Metal Blade 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)

Ingested, Ashes Lie Still (Metal Blade 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , , ,

The seventh album from Ingested is one of their best so far, Ashes Lie Still.

UK death metal band Ingested has been on a tear these past few years, releasing three albums in as many years. This is a picked-up pace even compared to the steady track they were on. The band is now a trio – Jason Evans (vocals), Sean Hynes (guitar, backing vocals), and Lyn Jeffs (drums) – but the sound they produce is just has heavy and brutal as it has been since the beginning sixteen years ago.

There are ten tracks on the new album. Guest musicians augment the core band on many songs. On the opening piece, “Ashes Lie Still,” Julia Frau adds a melodic interaction to the brutal, cross growling vocals. Languid lines float over the killing attacks, like blue skies during a stabbing. The syncopation and the periodic entry of hissing black metalish vocal passages further bend and curb any potential subgenre descriptive labels. This one plumbs your depths. “Shadows in Time” seems at first a little more straight-forward, but it is ravaging and relentless, rather like having your teeth cleaned with a shotgun. And, too, here, there are disequilibrium forces at work pushing the musical narrative this way and that. No respite.

The entire album is challenging and entertaining, cracking off in different directions with darkly gleeful abandon. I am especially impressed by “All I’ve Lost,” a song that has a guest appearance by Matt Heafy. Its early quiet attitude builds tension given the music that has come before – you know it is going off the rails soon and that makes you dig your fingernails into your leg as the sound builds. Excellent. “Scratch the Vein” is another one to look out for. It has a more measured tempo overall, and an added weight. Altogether, this record gets high marks and is one of my favorites from the band so far. Recommended.

Ashes Lie Still is out now through Metal Blade Records. Explore its many forms at the links below.

Links.

Ingested website, https://www.ingested.co.uk/

Bandcamp, https://ingested.bandcamp.com/album/ashes-lie-still

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

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

© Wayne Edwards

Ingested, Ashes Lie Still (Metal Blade 2022)

Rivers Of Nihil at Old National Centre, Indianapolis, October 15, 2022

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , , , ,

Rivers of Nihil finished off their fall tour with an unusual show in Indianapolis.

Rivers of Nihil finished their Fall tour with The Contortionist last Saturday at the Old National Centre in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was a concept tour in a way. Not only did The Contortionist play two of their albums in their entirety, but Rivers of Nihil also played an album straight through. That is something I had never seen before.

The Old National Centre was known to me for most of my life as the Murat Theatre, the oldest (extant) stage house in Indianapolis. It is a beautiful place with many performance areas including the main theater, The Egyptian Room, and a number of other halls and lobbies. The Rivers of Nihil show was in one of the lower levels in a small hall at the back. It is nicer than I am making it sound – imagine a decent-sized room where a wedding reception might be held with a stage on one side.

The evening got off to a peculiar start when Rivers of Nihil took the stage. The bassist, Adam Biggs, announced that the lead singer, Jake Dieffenbach, would not be performing due to “personal issues.” However, if it was OK with the crowd, the rest of the band would play anyway. The crowd agreed (what else could they do?) and the show went on with Biggs handling the vocal duties. At one point someone did jump on stage to sing for part of a song and I am pretty sure it was Dieffenbach, but in the darkness it was hard to tell.

Rivers of Nihil played their most recent album, The Work (Metal Blade Records 2021) straight through. This album has received a lot of good press (including from me) for its depth of expression. In many ways, Rivers of Nihil have a strong Pink Floyd component going with these songs, particularly in their exploratory nature. There is an extended lyrical presence in the work, and the generous use of saxophones during the live performance greatly enhanced the experience. The lighting was particularly dim and deeply colored, with the liberal use of strobe effects to drive the etherealness home. Even without their usual lead singer, the show they put on ran for an hour and was fantastic.

That’s it for the Fall tour, but Rivers of Nihil are back out on the road in Europe starting in November on the Faces of Death Tour. They will be in the northeast in December for three shows with Killswitch Engage as well, so there are a lot of opportunities remaining to see them this year. Get out there and do it.

Photos by Wayne Edwards.

This post is condensed / rewritten from the Ghost Cult Magazine article which is linked below.

Links.

Ghost Cult Magazine article on the show, https://www.ghostcultmag.com/concert-review-the-contortionist-rivers-of-nihil-live-at-old-national-centre-indianapolis/

Rivers Of Nihil, https://www.riversofnihil.com/

Metal Blade Records, https://www.metalblade.com/us/artists/rivers-of-nihil/

The Contortionist, https://www.thecontortionist.net/

© Wayne Edwards

Rivers Of Nihil at Old National Centre, Indianapolis, October 15, 2022

Defleshed, Grind Over Matter (Metal Blade 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , , ,

Defleshed have reformed and have created a new full-length album of blistering metal, Grind Over Matter.

Back when I first listened to Defleshed, I thought of them as a thrash band. Listening back on those albums from the 1990s, I can hear grindcore and death metal prominently as well. Whatever labels we might hang on them, the metal band from Sweden that is Defleshed was a major presence on the international scene in those days, but then in what seemed like the blink of an eye, they disappeared in 2005. Last year, the original core lineup got back together to record a couple of new tracks with the idea of including them on a vinyl boxset of their old material. The sessions went so well that what resulted was eleven new killer tracks that are collectively now known as Grind Over Matter. The band is Gustaf Jorde (vocals, bass), Lars Löfven (guitar), and Matte Modin (drums).

The album starts on “Bent Out Of Shape,” and with the opening notes we are immediately reacquainted with Defleshed. The heavy chop and pounding percussion is a feast for your ears and a strain on your throbbing jugular. Jorde’s vocals are as powerful as ever and the pace continues to be bewildering. The title track cranks next, and it feels like a sort of call to arms. It is “One Grave to Fit Them All” that seals the deal for me – I love this song with its hook and de-balancing act. The title of the album really sinks in by the third song, too, and I start to wonder how much longer can they keep this up. The answer is eight more songs.

The tracks are hard and fast, and on the brief side, running two or three minutes each, which is more than enough to get the job done. Every song has the ability to flatten you. I really like “Dear Devil” for its absolute ferocity and “Blastbeast” – I bet you can figure out why from the title. The closer, “Last Nail in the Coffin,” is a hard and sustained crack to the neck, a flurry of furious metal. If you are a fan of Defleshed then you are going really like the new album. This record is also the ideal gateway drug for new fans. Recommended.

Grind Over Matter hits the streets on Friday, October 28th through Metal Blade Records in a variety of formats. Choose your poison at the links below.

Links.

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

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

Metal Blade Records, https://www.metalblade.com/us/news/defleshed-announces-new-album-grind-over-matter/

© Wayne Edwards

Defleshed, Grind Over Matter (Metal Blade 2022)

Goatwhore, Angels Hung From The Arches Of Heaven (Metal Blade 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , ,

New Orleans metal band Goatwhore reach a new plane on their eighth album, Angels Hung From The Arches Of Heaven.

Goatwhore came to life in New Orleans a couple of years before the turn of the last century. After a demo and a split, the first full-length album they released was the raw The Eclipse of Ages into Black (2000). A few years later came Funeral Dirge for the Rotting Sun (2003) and then, the first one I heard when it came out, A Haunting Curse (2006). The next couple of albums were break-outs for the band in many ways. My favorite of them all, looking back, has become Constricting Rage of the Merciless (2014), but the new album has given it a run for its money. It is the intensity combined with the relentlessness that gets to me when I listen to Goatwhore. The band is Louis B. Falgoust II (vocals), Sammy Duet (guitar, vocals), Zack Simmons (drums), and Robert “TA” Coleman (bass).

After the eerie invocation there are eleven blazing tracks on Angels Hung From The Arches Of Heaven, beginning with the bestial “Born Of Satan’s Flesh.” It is a rampage of savage metal. Speed and wickedness are the guiding principles, and they are executed to the extreme. The growling and howling vocals are an active threat; the guitars an attack. The lead guitar break is surprisingly lyrical, luring your attention away before a counterattack. “The Bestowal Of Abomination” follows and falls in line. Here the guitars soar at the beginning and the opening percussion is even more in your face. And, here too, the lead guitar at first gives a look that stands in contrast to what is happening around you. When it returns, however, it is a craven menace.

The title track, “Angels Hung From The Arches Of Heaven,” comes third. It is dark and dramatic. The opening bars set up a story from which you cannot turn away. A superior depth is plumbed here. The odyssey you are on with the album comes into sharp focus, as the does the realization of the magnitude of the band’s achievement. I am impressed with every song, and I have a special attachment to the sequence of “Voracious Blood Fixation” and “The Devil’s Warlords.” In both, and for different reasons, the guitars are especially vivid to me.

The set ends with “And I Was Delivered From The Wound Of Perdition.” This last piece has its own set-up and culminates in a voracious consumption of doom. It is my favorite track on the album for the way it brings together and connects all the thriving elements employed in Goatwhore’s music into an overwhelming compelling amalgamation. This record will live on in your mind and will haunt you for as long as time exists. Highly recommended.

Angels Hung From The Arches Of Heaven is out on Friday, October 7th through Metal Blade Records in all kinds of vinyl and the usual other formats.

Photos by Wayne Edwards.

Links.

Goatwhore website, http://www.goatwhore.net/

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

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/thegoat666

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

© Wayne Edwards

Goatwhore, Angels Hung From The Arches Of Heaven (Metal Blade 2022)

Revocation, Netherheaven (Metal Blade 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , ,

Boston prog death metal band Revocation take you down a dark path on their new album, Netherheaven.

David Davidson (guitar, vocals), Brett Bamberger (bass, vocals), and Ash Pearson (drums) are Revocation. Since 2006 (and even before that as Cryptic Warning), this Boston metal band has been playing technical death metal to the escalating delight of their fans. They have released seven previous full-length albums, most recently The Outer Ones (2018). With what they have accomplished so far, they could have gone in any direction on their new record. They chose the dark, seething mythology of hell itself.

Talking about the new album, Davidson says, “We’re definitely in more of a death metal mindset than on earlier albums in our catalog. We’re focusing on how we can write the best death metal-centric album that we possibly can while still pushing our boundaries. The new songs on Netherheaven are evil and sinister but also have a progressive element to them to keep things interesting. It’s got our stamp on it, no question.”

There are nine crucial tracks on the new album. “Diabolical Majesty” sets the tone, and the tone is bewilderment. The music is almost overwhelming in its density. If you stand back a little you can catch the wave, and when the vocals kick in you will find your legs. The riff shifts are stabbing, the vocal changes are threatening. Prog elements add depth but also have a lifting quality to them that enormously enhances the music.

“Lessons In Occult Theft” is next. The percussion is a brutalizing affair, and the big guitar break is a fleeing spirit wandering the dark regions of a menaced space. It will make your head spin. Immediately following is “Nihilistic Violence,” which is every bit as trance-worthy as its predecessors.

The album does not let up at all. I particularly like the lyrical elegance of “Galleries of Morbid Artistry” and the extended guitar work of “The 9th Chasm.” Don’t miss “Re-Crucified,” either, because it features guest vocals by the late Trevor Strnad and George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher – it is a buzzsaw. Revocation has done it again. Recommended.

Netherheaven is out on Friday, September 9th through Metal Blade Records. Touch the links below to get the details.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://revocationband.bandcamp.com/album/netherheaven

Revocation website, https://www.revocationband.com/

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

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

© Wayne Edwards

Revocation, Netherheaven (Metal Blade 2022)

Amon Amarth, The Great Heathen Army (Metal Blade 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , ,

Iconic Viking metal band Amon Amarth have crafted their twelfth album, The Great Heathen Army.

Since 1992, Amon Amarth has been carrying the banner and swinging the sword for Viking metal, an heroic melodic heavy metal style that is wildly popular from sea to sea and icecap to icecap. Releasing a new album every two or three years for the past three decades has made them a reliable source of fresh music for their legions of fans. The new record has nine tales of heroism and conflict set in a savage world and told in the way only Amon Amarth can. The band is Johan Hegg (vocals), Olavi Mikkonen (guitar), Johan Söderberg (guitar), Ted Lundström (bass), and Jocke Wallgren (drums).

The battle begins with “Get in the Ring.” The song has a very ominous set-up to put you in the right frame of mind for the tenacious musical intercourse. Hegg’s gruff vocals cast their familiar spell over the abiding guitar riffs and steady percussion. It is an excellent choice for an opening song as it reminds you how much you like Amon Amarth. The title track follows, and it has a serious tone with a lithe delivery. “Heidrun” takes the baton and charges the field with a romping riff that sounds like the steady movement of a well-appointed army. A catchy chorus makes this song one that will stick in your head. “Oden Owns You All” is a much more aggressive track, with rippling percussion and forceful pattering that enhances the established style and theme.

Overall, the album delivers what the band’s fans are looking for. My favorite track is “Dawn of Norsemen” because it encapsulates the elements I like most about Amon Amarth from the story to the melody to the reliable rhythm section. You might choose a different favorite, but if you have enjoyed the previous albums from Amon Amarth, I think we will agree that the new one gets high marks. Recommended.

The Great Heathen Army is out now through Metal Blade Records in a variety of forms. Make your choices at the links below.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://amonamarth.bandcamp.com/album/the-great-heathen-army

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

Metal Blade Records, https://www.metalblade.com/us/releases/amon-amarth-the-great-heathen-army/

© Wayne Edwards

Amon Amarth, The Great Heathen Army (Metal Blade 2022)