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.
Disembodied - The Invisible Dimension
Genre: Brutal Death Metal
Label: Dismembered Records
Indonesia has developed a cute little extreme music scene over the last two decased. Sure, most of it is grindcore and brutal death metal and a lot of it is woefully underproduced and primitive, but on a qualitative level, a lot of it is considerably better than you would expect. Disembodied, whom I did not know in advance, play a frantic style of Brutal Death Metal that approaches Brutal Tech in how intense and technical it is. Compared to a lot of contemporaries, Disembodied show more songcraft and instrumental proficiency.
While the band certainly knows their way around a guitar and utilizes many different guitar techniques like sweep picking or fast, dissonant scale runs, the element that glues it all together in the end remains the slams. And as I talked about before, for a band that slams frequently, the quality and the groove of these slams remains the one factor for its success in the end. Luckily, Disembodied deliver on that front as well, which some of them making me go into the much desired stank face. The one flaw I can find is the outro, which is just ambient synth whoosh and utterly unnecessary. If you´re craving some brutality, Disembodied might be just what you need.
Rating: 6/10.
Artificial Brain - Artificial Brain
Genre: Technical/Progressive Death Metal
Label: Profound Lore
Artificial Brain have been darlings of the metal underground ever since their debut. It´s not like I don´t get it; especially their debut 'Labyrinth Constellation' seemed like a breath of fresh air for the continuously stagnating Death Metal genre. But just because something is new and fresh does not necessarily mean I have to love it, and while I appreciated and liked 'Labyrinth Constellation', I probably wouldn´t have put it higher than a honorable mention in my Year End List. Followup 'Infrared Horizon' was rather disappointing to me, as it dialed up the black metal influence and basically became Blackened Death Metal that was skewed to the Black Metal side - we don´t need to 'innovate' Death Metal by watering it down, especially not with black metal, the currently most popular extreme metal genre.
This new album attempts to merge the two styles of the albums beforehand and, as the naming suggests, find the essence of the band in the process. I can say that Artificial Brain have regained their mojo. While the approach is certainly textural and riffs often revolve around oscillating aroung a specific dissonant chord for a while, the rhythmic interest that was so sorely lacking from 'Infrared Horizon' is back and I can once again find grooves in the material or be jerked around by the more punctuated section here and there. A lot of the material seems to hearken back more to their Brutal Death past than probably even the debut with even a pong snare making a semi-frequent appearance. However, the band is also injecting it with subtle melancholy usually found in Dissonant Black Metal, Artificial Brain produce something that manages to be as emotional as it is alien. I would not call this album flawless and I still think it maybe focuses on the Black Metal a bit too much, but you could do worse with a self-titled.
Rating: high 6, low 7/10.
Origin - Chaosmos
Genre: Brutal/Technical Death Metal
Label: agonia Records
Origin is another one of these acts of squandered potential. While the early material of the band struggled to keep my interest, I thought they had really come into their own with 2008´s 'Antithesis'. 'Antithesis' was relentleslly brutal and an all-out assault in regards to speed, aggression and technicality. But the band seemed to know when to inject just a drop of melody or a hook into the songs and, unlike a lot of similar tech, there was an arc and escalation to these songs. 'Antithesis' was not just a tech-wankfest, there was actual songs there. The following albums, sadly, failed in exactly that regard. The songs were short and had neither much of a structure, nor great memorable moments or even hooks.
'Chaosmos' is the best album the band has done in forever. Strangely, it seems like Origin had to dial back the technicality a bit to achieve it. The density of sweeps, ridiculously fast trems or other extended techniques is noticeable reduced on 'Chaosmos'. Without these, a lot of the material seems more brutish again and reveals the original, Brutal Death Metal core. In the less technical moments, are not as outlandish any more and no longer as dissimilar to more traditional brutal tech acts as Dying Fetus or even Suffocation. This renewed interest in groove and the now longer songs give the listener something to grab on to. At the same time, I would wish that the material would be more technical - the synthesis of memorable songwriting and the absurd technical of extremity has so far only been achieved once by Origin - on 'Antithesis', 14 years ago.
Rating: 6/10.
Spiter - Bathe the Babe in Bats Blood
Genre: Black Metal / Punk
Label: Hells Headbangers
Why do we Metalheads care about bass so little? Or rather, why do so many metalheads care so little? I certainly care. Bass is the necessary fundament for a good sound, a prerequisite for physical impact. Black Metal is usually the worst offender - the bass already being low on the mix apparently doesn´t prevent many artists from also slapping TapeCassette2 on it and dialing the low cut filter up real high. Spiter aren´t like that, however. While I was worried when I heard the cheesy organ introduce the album, I was quickly greeted with some of the most punchy, clanky and enjoyably dirty bass I have heard in a while. Spiter have a bass tone that will make a bass enthusiasts pants feel too tight.
This black metal and punk brew that Spiter are playing has been attempted by many acts lately, among them Knife or Melissa. None of them manage to nail the spirit of Punk in the black metal context as good as spiter. This goes beyond the bass, which usually takes the lead role in punk, though: Spiter have the energy and seemingly don´t care if their music is sloppy or not. Without it actually being sloppy, however. This no fucks given attitude is rare and, in most cases, feels utterly dishonest when bands attempt them. Spiter, however, I believe are doing it as honest as you can do it.
Rating: 6/10.
Big Muff 68 - Swing Metal
Genre: Southern Metal / Pop Punk
Label: Independent
Big Muff 68 are one of two artists that recently have pushed their album back without much communication or reason. 'Swing Metal' should have released a while ago and I honestly became a bit disinterested in the project. The idea of 'Swing Metal' has a high chance of being gimmicky as is, and only the involvement of Members of Beaten to Death gave me any hope it would be otherwise. As the album turns out, I might have preferred Gimmicky. Because if it was a gimmicky hybrid of Swing music and Metal, forcefully jammed together, the album might have at least been what it has been advertised at. The band bills their music as choosing the best ideas from many musical decades, among them 'The Metal of the 90s'. In the end, the metal of the 90s is all there is.
Big Muff 68 basically just sounds like a Pop Punk Pantera. Sure, the material "swings", but is that actually a novelty? Lots of southern metal utilizes swing, lots of stoner swings and its overall not a new idea for metal. Having the rhythmic framework be narrowly defined by southern Pantera grooves only to have the melodic framework be mostly defined by 90s pop rock and punk mannerisms leads to rasther repetitive songwriting. The band attempts to break the habit three times. Two of these times, we get treated to two painful ballads. The third time, the band actually introduces brass that growls and honks and trades rhythmic ideas with the drums - only for the album to end almost immediately. I cannot help but feel that Big Muff 68 are trying to sell me something I don´t want and, more importantly, I don´t like.
Rating: 4/10
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