This post collects the reviews posted to Instagram for the week. They cover mostly metal, but other genres might be considered. Blog exclusive reviews from other writers are featured, as well.
Scuttlegoat's Curmudgeonly Critiques
Torsofuck - Postpartum Exstasy
Genre: Pornogrind
Label: Independent
Release Date: 15-03-2023
Torsofuck is a legendary band. Why exactly eludes me, up to a point at least. The meme-ability of the intro to their classic song "Raped By Elephants" surely is a big part of it. People share it for shock value or because they simply can't believe it led to a band gaining popularity that was never better than "so bad its good"—admittedly I have done this and enjoyed doing it. Stuff like this is hard to rate or put into words, especially since the band did not produce the voice samples they use. Rather, it is a scene from the movie Freddy Got Fingered, and if you know director and starring actor Tom Green's work, you know that he clearly chose such transgressive subject matter to shock people and fuck with the studio. Nonetheless, Torsofuck are back and it is up to them to prove that they are more than "so bad they're good".
If Torsofuck took a lesson from their internet popularity, it seems to be to double down on the samples. As a Pornogrind band, they have always overused samples. Some songs on Postpartum Exstasy [sic!] are shorter than the samples that precede them, making the album a grueling listen. The music starts and stops too much and there is not even a semblance of flow to the record. Some of the songs on the album do have a certain entertainment value - the lovingly titled "Retarded Anal Whore" is probably the best song on the album with a captivating low IQ groove. The issue is that I never want to sit through the sample again. If the sample had comedic value and a novelty factor, like the aforementioned classic "Raped By Elephants", it might be a different story. Whenever the "Raped by Elephants" sample plays at a party, after I shoehorned it into the party playlist, there is a humorous sense of bewilderment to the audience before it dives head-first into the slams. Samples on Postpartum Exstasy are mostly people moaning, either in pleasure or in pain, or making miscellaneous sex noises (this is Pornogrind after all). Torsofuck gave away the slight advantage they had over other Pornogrind acts—they're not funny anymore. As a band that is as annoying as all the others in the genre, Torsofuck is no longer "so bad it's good".
Rating: 4/10
Gatekeeper - From Western Shores
Genre: Epic Heavy Metal
Label: Cruz del Sur Music
Release Date: 24-03-2023
Epic Heavy Metal, or throwback Trad in general, is a genre that I would like to love, but I rarely do. You can only reheat, regurgitate or unfreeze a thing so often before it loses all its taste, and throwback genres are no different. Not to go into the same old sermon, but we have heard all of this before. Gatekeeper stuck out of the pack just a tiny bit, maybe not in character but by being just a little bit better and more memorable.
From Western Shores sees some changes in personnel, and it does change the character of the music significantly. With Tyler Anderson taking over the lead vocal spot, the music shifts from the more epic and pulpy character of 2018’s East of Sun to material that feels slightly more at home with the recent wave of 80s inspired Heavy Metal. The timbre of the vocals in particular reminds me of Sumerlands latest effort, even though it luckily doesn't commit to the horrible vocal processing as much. In any case, the music feels just a tad less organic, a tad less heroic and a bit more by the numbers. Gatekeeper are still good with what they do, overall, however. Some of the cheesiest of choruses, particularly sections of "Keepers of the Gate" do tickle the guilty pleasure sections of my brain in a good way. I would prefer it if Gatekeeper had the grit to back it all up and delve less into the most populist elements of their style. I would like Gatekeeper to focus on the Savatage and Omen ingredients of their USPM stew, instead of trying to sweeten it up with increased Hammerfall-isms.
Rating: 6/10
Speech Odd - Odd World
Genre: Powerviolence / Crust Punk
Label: Independent
Release Date: 12-03-2023
The drought of quality releases, especially in regards to metal, lately motivates me more and more to just randomly click around Bandcamp and choose albums with unique covers. Odd World is such a find, as the bubbly, cartoony cover is somewhat of an eyecatcher amongst the monochrome misery that populates the Crust Punk tab. Speech Odd are a young band from Thailand. Female-fronted, young and stylish, and rejecting some of the visual elements of Crust, Speech Odd seems ideal fodder for the mainstream or hipster-oriented outlets online.
Musically, Speech Odd do deliver, though. Playing a fast-paced style of Powerviolence that often opens, ends, or has mid sections featuring heavy guitar feedback, most of it seems rather familiar. The band boasts a uniquely bright palette without leaving that sound, owing much to their singer's chosen style, which will also most likely be the biggest hurdle for people to overcome. This gal screeches hysterically and reminds me as much of a character from Rugrats as it does other Riot Grrrl hardcore punk groups. Frankly, I can see this becoming grating on any release longer than this. If the band wisely decided to keep it short or was just following genre conventions, I can't really say. In this case, it works out but I cannot make any prognosis if the band can land with a wider audience—unless Pitchfork discovers them, of course.
Rating: 6/10
Cosmo's Chaotic Curveballs
Burden of Ymir - Heorot
Genre: Black Metal / Folk Metal / Viking Metal
Label: Flowing Downward
Release: 10-03-23
Joe Caswell certainly has been a busy man lately. Only two weeks since the debut Drowstorm album released, he's back with his main project Burden of Ymir with this newest ouring Heorot. Stylistically different, Burden of Ymir sounds a bit like a combination of Moonsorrow and Ensiferum, compared to the gnarled dissonance Drowstorm delivers. Does the Blackened Viking Folk work, or is this a failed raid?
Lyrically, Heorot eschews previous Burden of Ymir mannerisms by using the legend of Beowulf instead of the Norse mythology that has been the standard for the previous four releases. This is interesting in metal, as it's less common to see bands focus on this particular myth as a source of inspiration. Musically, though, this album feels like a hodgepodge of ideas thrown at a wall to see what sticks. The opening and closing songs are pointless dungeon synth pieces that don't add substance to this album whatsoever, and would have been better if cut entirely. There is bloat elsewhere as well, specifically in "The Great Mead Hall" and especially in "The Ninth Hour Approaches", as neither are interesting enough for their slow-paced 7 and 9 minute respective runtimes. On the other hand, "Recounting on the Seas", "Revenge Found in the Night", and "Threat of Fire" are tried and trv Viking Metal rippers, bringing the Moonsorrowed Ensiferum combo out and showing what it can do when played well. Those tracks are all quite fun, and I find myself returning to them most when coming back to Heorot. That being said, I'm a little disappointed. After being suitably impressed by Drowstorm, I was looking forward to Burden of Ymir, especially considering its absolutely gorgeous album cover (this guy). I do recommend this album to anyone who likes a dash of Black Metal in their Viking and Folk Metal, but I doubt it will appeal to many beyond the most diehard fans of both genres. Here's hoping the next outing will be a success.
Rating: 5/10
Úlfúð - Of Existential Distortion
Genre: Blackened Death Metal
Label: Dark Descent Records
Release: 17-03-23
After a drought in the wellspring of Icelandic Black Metal, the floodgates seemed to have finally opened up again with two new blackened offerings appearing from the land of ice and fire in the past three months: Misþyrming and Úlfúð. Rather than abiding by traditional Icelandic Black Metal soundscapes of sprawling dissonance and nightmarish psychedelia, Úlfúð (pronounced "ool-wooth," not Whole Foods, Olfood, or any other silly name I've heard people give them) have a completely different approach to the style, going for a more Blackened Death Metal approach with hints of melodicism strewn about.
Right from the start, Úlfúð drags the listener down screaming into the dark world their sound portrays with "Where Strange Lights Dance." Though it's just the opener, I've come back to this song in particular many, many times. Úlfúð continues their Melodic Death Metal with a blackened edge prominently on the two tracks that follow, and it gives this album a bit of a 2014-era At The Gates meets Wormwitch vibe. Úlfúð never fails to bring the riffs in their songwriting, and no one song feels too repetitive, as the band goes back and forth between the blackened bits and the melodic bits. They also use chanting vocals on "Gods Left Behind," another favorite of mine that competes for the top banger on Of Existential Distortion.
It's not perfect, however. "An Elegy to a Paradise Out of Reach" does not need to be 8 and a half minutes long, and a couple of the other 7 songs tend overstay a bit. And while Úlfúð's blackened style works, I would like to see more the rich scene they're now a part of influence their craft. Criticisms aside, this is a stunning debut. A grower of an album, Of Existential Distortion (much like the recently released Drowstorm album) rewards the listener with each successive listen. Úlfúð are a force to be reckoned with moving forward.
Rating: 7/10