Watain – The Wild Hunt
Genre: Black
Metal
Following
the praise
and ire their malevolent 2011 opus Lawless
Darkness drew, Watain
were deemed guilty of the gravest sin the black metal community could
muster – the Swedish outfit had abandoned their underground roots
and done the abominable: sold out. A signing
with Century Media seemed to confirm this notion, and this August The
Wild Hunt provided the
final nail in the coffin that the band have ascended beyond their
orthodox, by-the-books approach to black metal and put a new, intense
spin on it.
To
be completely fair, it was a move everyone should have seen coming,
and while the Wild Hunt's
decidedly un-trve elements are up in your face as much as possible,
instead of lurking in the background as they were on Lawless
Darkness, Watain's
transformation has been going on since 2007. With the exception of
their pummelling first two releases, Watain's music has swapped the
murky for the epic, and the
Wild Hunt makes this
abundantly clear from the start – with the instrumental
introduction 'Night Vision' building in eerie majesty to a
heart-throbbing climax before segueing to the equally excellent 'De
Profundis', which is one of Watain's only throwbacks to their earlier
material (the other being 'Sleepless Evil').
With
the Wild Hunt,
Watain inch every so slightly more outside of the well-travelled
terrain of trve black metal, and to their credit succeed very well,
given since their inception the band has been devoted to maintaining
the danger of black metal's beginnings. And, to be honest, the
Wild Hunt does danger
and trepidation a lot well than previous Watain outings, which were
all about murky, lo-fi instrumentals and occult imagery. The
piercing blackness and hate suffusing this record are undeniable
as, on tracks like
'Sleeping Evil' or 'De Profundis' the band uses malevolent, ringing
clean guitar to accentuate and slowly mount the horrible tension.
It's in this new approach to songwriting that new Watain records
really shine the brightest – while Casus
Luciferi was fun, it was
fairly nondescript by-the-books black metal. If you wanted something
more, that's where the
Wild Hunt delivers.
There's
a sense of dark power pulling you along the corridors of this record
– 'All That May Bleed', the record's debut single, is a catchy,
mighty odyssey while the title track is slow, blasphemous, and
features clean guitars ringing effervescently in the gloom. Even the
much-discussed 'They Rode On', which can only be called an 80s
ballad, is a dark cosmic story of gods whirling and
dying through space and
time. Erik Danielsson's clean vocals are used sparsely but tastefully
to heighten the epic taste and borderline NWOBHM obtuseness that
pervades the passages of the
Wild Hunt.
There's
a whole host of interesting ideas and influences that Watain drag
into the abyss with them on this record – from the borderline
catchiness of songs like 'Outlaw' and 'Black Flames March' to the
aforementioned clean vocals of 'the Wild Hunt' and 'They Rode On',
the Wild Hunt features
the band at their most versatile and definitely most memorable.
One
of the record's most commendable qualities, though, isn't its
refreshing and awesome textures and ideas, but the fact that each of
these songs is pretty damn amazing. Even when the grooves of 'Outlaw'
are done, and it's a return to the unorthodox structures of previous
Watain outings, the intricacies of the music, and the constant
back-and-forth of the bass and guitarwork carries this record through
sheer force of axe. For fans of Watain's newer material, or for those
looking to get into Watain in general, the
Wild Hunt is a very good
place to start or continue.
Notable
Songs: 'All That May Bleed', 'Sleepless Evil', 'Holocaust Dawn'.
Avenged
Sevenfold – Hail to the King
Genre:
Heavy Metal/NWOAHM
The
kings of nu-80s bombast and drawing the scorn and hatred of metal
purists returned this summer after a three year silence, the loss of
their drummer Jimmy Sullivan in late 2009, and the awful whinefest
that was their 2010 record Nightmare.
Avenged Sevenfold's progression from another uninteresting
Californian metalcore band to one of the most well-known and
recognized rock bands is, while commendable in its own right, not
totally without fault.
Since
2005's stellar City of
Evil, the band have
scaled back both most of their more inflammatory metal accoutrements
– unclean vocals, abrasive instrumentals, and religiously charged
imagery - in lieu of more radio-friendly melody and Guns N Roses
worship. And then, in 2010, A7X fans were treated to a barrage of
poorly executed and strung-together ideas and pessimistic grumbling.
Thus, it was with fairly low expectations that I approached Hail
to the King, the band's
newest effort and their first with drummer Aren Ilejay, and while I
was pleasantly surprised, there's still a lot of ground to be broken
by the band before they're back on par with City
of Evil.
I
can't say much about Ilejay because, quite simply, his drumming on
the record isn't nearly as technical as Sullivan's was – 'Doing
Time' is a relatively mid-tempo 80s salute, replete with rambling
guitar solos, courtesy of Brian “Synyster Gates” Haner and lyrics
about drinking too much. Ilejay's role in the band is to support, not
lead as Sullivan did. And that's not entirely his fault – Hail
to the King has the band
finally embracing their groovy, Motorhead-shocked influences.
It's
the band's first outing where they aren't singing about personal
struggles to appeal to the average thirteen year old, and while
that's commendable, Hail
to the King never flirts
with anything other than total accessibility – you'll see no
bizarre variations in song structures or riffs that go too far.
That's not to say the songwriting is bad – in fact, Hail
to the King could very
well be the band's best in a few ways (well, maybe not as good as
Waking the Fallen,
but still), it's just that it's a highly predictable record.
And
that's fine, because this is a band meant for an average metal
dabbler or music fan in general – the kind of guy who stops at Iron
Maiden because it's 'too loud'. Hail
to the King is catchy,
epic to the point of cheese, and while the drums are far too loud (as
I mentioned on my review), they do add to the nod-along quality of
the record – an important quality for a band going for
accessibility.
But
as much as I'm praising the band for their accessible, NWOBHM-studded
approach to music, it remains that A7X are very good at producing not
very interesting music. This isn't music to enjoy for all of its
intricacies and sheer genius – it's music for the gym, for driving
to work, or for getting up in the morning. That both helps and
detracts – all music has its own place, but when you start looking
deeper at this music is when it starts to fall apart. It's an
unfortunate shortcoming, but Hail
to the King wasn't
designed with a music nerd like me in mind.
As
mentioned before, Hail to
the King, as should be
evident from its name, is a departure from the previous lyricisms of
its predecessors in that it embraces exactly what the band have been
touting for years – and does it pretty damn well at that. 'Crimson
Day''s intro could be from a Judas Priest Song, and the Maiden
influence on songs like 'Heretic' or 'Planets' is so conspicuous you
could cut it with a knife. I'm fairly confident that if A7X stick to
the track they're currently on with this record, they'll find a place
in the hearts of NWOBHM fans someday.
If you're in the mood for mindless jams, look no further, but
otherwise you might want to look somewhere else.
Notable
Tracks: 'Shepherd of Fire', 'Doing Time', 'Coming
Home'.
Born
of Osiris – Tomorrow
We Die Δlive
Genre:
Deathcore/Djent
If
the unnecessarily dumb delta in the album title doesn't tell you,
Born of Osiris are one of those djent bands that think if they hide
behind scientific terms they'll somehow stop being a fairly
uninteresting deathcore band whose fifteen minutes of fame are up.
Indeed, if you were following the scene in 2011 you'll
remember fans frothing at the mouth for the band's only bearable
album The
Discovery.
It was actually a very
well-done
album – one of the best of that year – but not long after, guitar
virtuoso Jason Richardson quit the band to play for Chelsea Grin (but
even he couldn't save the abortion that was Evolve
from
being horrible, but I digress). Richardson
cited
personal differences and the fact that everyone else in BOO was high
off their ass all the time, and if you listen to Tomorrow
We Die Alive,
you can't blame him.
To
begin – the title. It's not clever, epic, or anything less than
silly. Read it a few times – it's
syntactically devoid of meaning.
Now, jamming words together to make metal album titles isn't an
uncommon occurance – Dimmu Borgir's Enthrone
Darkness Triumphant springs
to mind immediately as a word jumble title. But
unlike BOO, at least Enthrone
makes some sort of sense
– darkness, who is triumphant, is upon a throne. Tomorrow
We Die Alive? What?
'Die' is a verb, you have to use an adverb to modify it, dipshits.
Regardless,
with Tomorrow We Die
Alive the truth that
Richardson's guitar has carried the rest of the band these past few
years becomes painstakingly clear. This
record is up to its chest in djent cliches – symphonic synths,
uninspired chugging, monotonous vocals about vague scientific
concepts and, every now and then, a swept arpeggio or two to remind
you that, guys, they're
real technical. Intro
'MΔchine'
(again
with
the goddamn delta) is about four minutes of torturously slow buildup
to the same lick with a generic 0-0-00-00 breakdown or
four
thrown in for good measure.
Tomorrow
We Die Alive feels
half-assed at best, and downright boring and repetitive at worst. Not
even the percussion of Cameron Losch, whose ridiculous, off-kilter
skin beating in the
Discovery doesn't
make
a return – instead we're treated to a plethora of songs in the same
tempo that do exactly the same thing, except occasionally with a
dubstep or electronic wobble thrown in for extra stupid. It feels
like the ambitious outlook the band had on the
Discovery has
evaporated, and the band have regressed to the less interesting style
of A
Higher Place.
That's
not to say this record is totally devoid of goodness, but at its best
it barely scratches the most mediocre of The
Discovery.
'Divergency' features some tight grooves, even if the correct word is
'divergence', idiots, and comprises one
of
the record's highest points.
'ExhilΔrΔte'
(seriously, get over yourselves) has vocalist Ronnie Canizaro
displaying his most variable range on the record, and the synths
actually give the music a bit of a cool feeling. It's not very
memorable, but it's better than most of the record. 'Δbsolution'
features clean guitars in the background, tight grooves, airy
passages, and tons of variation, making it easily the record's best
song.
The
most glaring error with Tomorrow
We Die Alive,
though, isn't BOO's bold trajectory into nowhere, but the fact that
they're trying to play uninspired
deathcore and djent at the same time – it's clear that they think
that if they mix the less technical aspects of djent with the chug
and rumble of deathcore that they'll have a winning formula. Well, as
monumental as it may be, djent is a derivative of deathcore, so all
BOO are playing is deathcore with a different guitar tone, and
not even well at that.
With the exception of a song or two, this record is best skipped
over.
Notable
Tracks: 'Divergency', 'Δbsolution',
'The
Origin'.
Primitive
Man – Scorn
(Reissue)
Genre:
Doom Metal/Noise
With a sound that's best
described as being run over by a very slow-moving train, Denver-based
doom outfit Primitive Man erupted into being this summer with their
hideous, soul-crushing debut Scorn.
Taking cues from monstrous doom metal, feral crust punk, and
ear-shredding pure noise, Scorn
is an absolute mammoth
of a record, with bass tones monumental enough to flatten a building.
From the get-go, the band wastes no time in slamming you with
suffocatingly dense pure sound. With all guns blazing and tuned to
Drop Hell, the title track's sadistic and brief moment of melody is
immediately eclipsed by a return to agony as feedback screeches
discordantly crash back all around you. The last three minutes of its
eleven minute fallout push heaviness to impossibly new highs, with
reality converging to one very small, impossibly packed point as
Ethan McCarthy bellows “SCORN! REVENGE! HATE! RUIN!
SCOOOOOOOOOORN!”
With ten eviscerating songs to
transform your eardrums into bloody pulp, Scorn
was actually released
last year independently, but as the band signed to Relapse this
summer, their debut saw the light of day and rose to popularity as
potentially the year's most mind-crushingly heavy record. With the
title track offering a quick and filthy introduction to the record's
formula, the band play their way through doom-like riffing laced with
the grime and sweat of crust punk. 'Rags', for example, echoes
hardcore punk in its chunky, methodical vivisection of an intro
before lapsing into
horribly slow vocal passages.
Scorn
is music meant to
hurt. There's no sense of experimentation a la Portal or Torturing
Nurse, rather, Primitive Man are all about finding out exactly what
makes your head throb and blowing that up a thousandfold. There
is no solace or shelter here – even at its fastest ('Antietam')
Scorn
still as thick as molasses and as heavy as a bulldozer lying flat on
your head. I'm no novice to crusty doom, but in terms of unique
approach Primitive Man stand unparalleled – and it takes a lot of
courage to willingly torture your listeners this much.
This album is
not for the average Black Sabbath fan or for your friend who jams out
to Lamb of God. Nor is this even for that dude you know who jocks
Darkthrone, although you're getting closer. Primitive Man's debut is
for people with a bone to pick and a disregard for approachability –
it's extreme art at its most taxing and suffocating. It's a slog to
get through to be sure, but for as much as it is the soundtrack to a
high fever, its ingenuity points to a bright future for this gang of
degenerates.
Blessthefall
– Hollow
Bodies
Genre:
Metalcore
I
really, really, really
shouldn't like this
record. I made a pact to myself before I started this clusterfuck of
a countdown that I wouldn't touch on the huge wave of mediocrity
Warped inevitably forces down everyone's throat this summer, but my
love of Blessthefall's 2009 Witness
ultimately drew me to
their newest record Hollow
Bodies.
It's almost admirable how
squarely Blessthefall has hit on every
single metalcore
stereotype, cramming as many as possible on this miserable little
record as possible. A cute vocalist only for cleans? Check.
Breakdowns at a dime-a-dozen? Check. Self-important lyrics about
helping yourself? Check check fucking check.
So why the everlasting fuck is
Hollow Bodies so
impossible to hate? With the exception of the fairly run-of-the-mill
'all guns blazing' introduction 'Exodus' and the banal 'You Wear a
Crown But You're No King', Blessthefall's newest is a return to the
formula that made Witness
one of the best scene
albums of the 2000s. It's intense but never verging on unnecessary,
catchy as the plague, and while Blessthefall remain loathe to abandon
cliches, add just enough inter-song variety to keep your attention
riveted.
'Buried in These Walls' gives
singer Beau Bokan space to sing his heart out as the other
instruments retreat behind the now-hackneyed 'quiet/piano' metalcore
break. In any case, the band haven't really done it before and it's
kinda nice to know that Bokan remains one of the few vocalists in the
scene not to resort to autotune. 'See You on the Outside' has
promise, starting with a fairly classic -core riff, but the addition
of a forced breakdown (or two) spoils what would have been one of the
record's most forward-thinking additions. 'Youngbloods'
could easily have been a great metalcore song, but a mosh call in the
form of 'You're just a BITCH!' made me groan aloud.
Blessthefall are at their best
when they aren't constantly moving between Bokan's cleans and Jared
Warth's uncleans. Hollow
Bodies is a fairly
nose-to-the-grindstone heavy album, and Bokan's vocals feel out of
place 4/5 times they're used, with the band opting for a slight
melodic lilt whenever he starts singing to ruin the song. What made
Witness so
memorable and 2011's Awakening
so forgettable was
that the former was far more intense, and while Hollow
Bodies is a return to
that formula, the goof-ups of Awakening
remain.
I
really want
Blessthefall to be good. They have the potential and the ability as
musicians, but they seem unwilling to rise above anything but
mediocrity. So many of the songs on Hollow
Bodies start out with
me thinking 'this is really good!' but then a curveball comes in the
form of a worn-out trope and I immediately get discouraged. Jake
Luhrs' (August Burns Red) appearance on 'Carry On' is so blatantly a
marketing move that I audibly sighed.
There's not much that can save
this record from being anything but totally derivative, but damn
if it isn't fun. For
as uninteresting and redundant as Blessthefall are in everything,
they're pretty damn good at writing hooks. If you're not grooving out
to at least one of these songs by the end of a run through Hollow
Bodies, then you're
clearly more trve than I am. Not worth listening to unless you're
either masochistic or a fan of the stuff, but well worth it if you
are.
Notable Tracks: 'The Sound of
Starting Over', 'Standing on the Ashes', 'Open Water'.
No comments:
Post a Comment