In this post, I collect my instagram reviews for the week for albums released in 2022. All my non-2022 reviews are gathered in a post as soon as a decent number has accumulated. I listen to mostly metal, but I do not limit myself to any genre.
Shapeshifter - Dark Ritual
Genre: Grindcore
Label: ungulates
Shapeshifter are a japanese grindcore act that certainly doesn´t try to reinvent the wheel too much when they´re actually grinding, but that has a certain je ne sais quois about them - somehow, they manage to sound unique. There´s a distinctive noise influence to the album (after all it opens with about a minute of it) and the unusually thick and metallic guitar tone makes it easy for the album to feel heavy as well. The sound in general is what is the most addictive about the album, with vocals that feel disgusting and unhealthy and lots of glitchy post processing on the instruments - or maybe this is done with pedals? A bananana pedal could certainly do the trick, but in the end, I do not know how the band produces some of their sounds - which is often refreshing.
As Grind goes, the album moves almost too quickly to even talk about it. This is a full-length, supposedly, but it doesn´t even crack 20 minutes. Other grindcore acts manage to wear you thin on ten minutes and almost seem to beg you to turn it off, but with 'Dark Ritual', I am almost always surprised that the album is already over. And luckily, its backloaded - there isn´t a bad track on this album, but the homestretch from 'Hereditary' to 'Psycho Eyes' is the albums strongest moments. You will be barraged with melodic guitars on 'Hereditary', a classic groove oriented opening riff on 'Hollow' or the sludgy groove on 'Psycho Eyes'. Shapeshifter show that they max out each ingredient of real grind and maybe a little bit of False grind thrown in for good measure.
Rating: 7/10.
Sylvaine - Nova
Genre: Post (Black) Metal
Label: Season of Mist
Originally, I wanted to open this review that I am not a huge fan of the vague "Female fronted quasi black metal" scene. But what is there? I know Myrkur is probably the poster child, and I remember more bands existing, but the longer I think about it, the less I can think of actual names of bands in the style. What this tells me is that the material is probably awfully forgetteable and having said that, I found a good opening hook after all. Yes, Sylvaine makes "pretty" music but how much 'Nova' works for you will very much depend on how enchanted you are by the namesakes vocals. For me, they just aren´t enough to carry me through a 50 minute album.
It´s not like 'Nova' is devoid of anything worthwhile, of course. Sylvaine does have a pretty voice and the ethereal vocals would be ideally to play in the background of a movie or videogame score. Its just that this is suppsedly a post metal or post rock album. The issue is especially apparent in 12 minute track 'Fortapt'. Sections will go on for too long (a common post metal issue) only to then either have an unsatisfying release to their buildup or fizzle out alltogether. Trying to concentrate on 'Nova' is hard but I don´t feel like I would get more out of it if I were to focus more on it, either. Sylvaine is a good vocalist, but not as much of a composer. It would really help the album if more contrast was present and, to be frank, if she went into that nasty shriek just a little more often or even just with more purpose.
Rating: 5/10.
Véhémence - Ordalies
Genre: Epic / Medieval Black Metal
Label: Antiq records
In the highly specific niche genre of Medieval Black Metal, Véhémence is probably one of the bigger names. In the past, the medieval feel was sadly always mostly relegated to the non-metal interludes. Yes, I know that the folky medieval bits are part of the songs, but they never really merge with the metal and thus are basically just interludes within songs. This wasn´t a dealbreaker, as Véhémence still played solid meloblack, but it didn´t fulfill my craving of ren fair-ed up black metal. Ordalies is another attempt by the band and I must say that I do see an improvement.
Véhémence still play mostly meloblack, but I notice an increased focus on the modal scales that are so integral to what the general populace views as medieval. Songs on 'Ordalies' are expeansive and focus highly on the repetition of these melodies. Often, they will be repeated ad nauseam and for too long, but its a strong set of melodies. The interludes still mingly very little with the songs proper, but I feel that there is more thematic exchange this time around and the black metal will sometimes play variations of the motifs set up in the interludes, creating a kind of relationship. Véhémence do enough that I am rooting for them. The issues are now reduced to the extremely french way the clean vocals sometimes hit and the length. The album could easily be trimmed down by shaving a few repetitions off in every song and, not to sound like a broken record as I say this about a lot of albums, would likely be better for it. If you want your medieval BM fix, you will likely find it here, though.
Rating: 6/10.
Messa - Close
Genre: Doom Metal / Progressive Rock / Dark Cabaret
Label: Svart Records
Among the relatively recent wave of female fronted "Stoner" bands, Messa are probably the best and the most unique. Singer Sarah has some pipes, but also the restraint to not overplay on the material. Their sparse stoner-ish soundscapes infused with jazz and cabaret elements feel like less of a checklist of genre tropes than with many other acts - the tradeoff being heavyness. Messa can almost not be called Doom Metal anymore and if a thing as Doom Rock exists, maybe thats what we should call Messa. In the end, it does barely matter as I do get the same relaxed but immerse feel out of Messa as I get out of the best Doom Metal bands.
The same qualities that made 'Belfry' and 'Feast for Water' so enjoyable are also on display here and Messa yet again present some very sparse but subtly complex songs here. This time around, a stronger influence of middle eastern music is present. 'Orphalese' opens with the twangy type of bowed instrument often associated with the desert by hacky hollywood composers, but it seems appreciative here and gets a pass. The oud on '0=2' is even more of a hit, as it fits their sonic palette perfectly. If the song needed a minute of atmospheric whoosh before it, I really do not know - I must admit that the absurdly long buildup to the tracks finale, consisting a saxophone with a free-jazz spazzout , seems worth it every time in the end. I must also mention penultimate track 'Leffotrak'. Firstly, why is it named after the german word for potato, but backwards? Secondly, I did not expect the quasi grind aggression of this track. Maybe having some more of these could in the future be a good choice - contrast done by extremes. As it stands, 'Close' is a very good album, however. Its length is almost justified and the immersive sounds they manage to conjur are highly enjoyable.
Rating: 7/10.
Ghost - Impera
Genre: Hard Rock / Pop Rock
Label: Loma Vista
I´ve been hating on Ghost for a while now. I totally admit it, I shouldn´t be as annoyed by them as I am - their music is, by far and large, inoffensive. Aggressively inoffensive in fact; and thats where I get annoyed. The band attempts to appeal to everyone - it fully and unapologetically is pop music. This comes with the benefit that, at times, Ghost can be infectious in how catchy they are. 'Rats' from 2018´s 'Prequelle' still gets stuck in my head sometimes. Sadly, the pop model on completely focusing on the singles with most of the rest of the album being basically an afterthought also applied to it. A single doesn´t make a good album. 'Prequelle' also ommitted the nods to more extreme forms of metal that were still noticeable on tracks like 'Cirice' from 2016´s 'Meliora. The same development now continues on 'Impera'.
Ghost fully embrace the 80s Pop and/or Glam rock on this album, fully gone is any nods to the spooky concept or to occultism. 'Impera' removes even the last traces of anything that can be considered metal, which is not an issue by itself. After all, good Pop records have been made. Unfortunately, the question if 'Impera' is a good pop record also cannot be answered with a Yes. An album this pop-oriented, this clean and this lacking in any form of bite or character should at least be catchy and memorable. I couldn´t remember anything of 'Impera' if I tried. The album is incredibly uniform, as well, two interludes notwithstanding. The only track that sticks out does so like a sore-thumb, as the weird attempt at a brass infused nu-metal stadium rocker neither works nor fits the aesthetic of the album. And the vocal performance couldn´t be more lazy if they tried. In the end, I know 'Impera' will sell and all that I hate about it is what the fans love. Why do I even bother?
Rating: (low) 4/10
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