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
The Infinity Ring – Nemesis & Nativity
Genre: Gothic Americana / Folk / Drone
Label: Profound Lore
Release Date: 14-04-2023
Most albums fit the usual genre boxes quite nicely and even when they don't, a slash mark usually does the trick well enough for the listener to get a feeling for what to expect. Nemesis & Nativity is a rare case where this does not apply. While the genre tags you see above all do apply and do represent the album sufficiently, there is no real way the twists and turns the album takes could be anticipated. This is especially noteworthy as most Gothic acts have settled into the sonic clichés especially hard at this point. The opening alone combines MENA style harmony with chorus lead guitars and chanting talk-singing – all of this serving a hypnotic, fluid build. While each individual track on the album is similarly focused on building steadily in momentum and intensity, the tracks are so diverse between them that the album could run the risk of becoming too fragmented. Somehow, even though the album includes Post-rock, Sludge, Gothic Americana and Drone sections, it pertains a sense of narrative throughout it. Even though tracks end, there is few opportunities to opt out of the album – you would not want to, anyway.
The element tying it all together is the vocalist. The gravelly yet smooth vocals he adds to the album recall Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen and Lou Reed to equal amounts. There is a sense of tension to it, as it is rough, weathered and probably sounds older than the singer is – positively ancient, in some ways. Yet, the gentle character of it, relaxing like the purr of a cat, makes it sit perfectly atop the music. Almost as if the vocalist is a mythical storyteller guiding us through the music. This mythical feeling is likely intentional, considering how the lyrical themes harken back to Greek mythology, from what I understand.
Rating: High 7 / low 8/10
Scrap Pile - The Eagle Lake Slasher
Genre: Brutal Death Metal / Slam
Label: Scrap Recordings
Release Date: 26-04-2023
One would think that after reviewing the n-th Slam album in a year, I wouldn't have much to say. But, just as fans of Slasher films watch them for the differences, not the similarities, I can listen to Slam endlessly and pick up on the sometimes microscopic changes. Fittingly, Scrap Pile have somewhat of a Serial Killer theme going on, or at least have titled their album after a fictitious killer whose modus operandi seems to involve murdering teens around a Lake, likely involving a camp as well. Other lyrical themes involve mythology, general hatred and unfortunate weebery, but it is all par for the course for a Slam album. Not that any of the lyrics are particularly decipherable. The vocalist goes hard and dishes up a variety of different squeals, burps and features a guest that does Gutalax-esque Chirps. A vocal performance that is tight and varied is often the key to selling Slam, as the genre tends to hone in on homogenous textures and tempos a lot of the time.
Within that specific slamming groove, the band knows what to do though. Subtly changing the feel between slams, weighting hits differently and just generally approaching slams from different angles helps differentiate them. Often, there is an indescribable groove through the songs that survives any changes of tempo and feel. The band also knows when to move away from a slam and is capable of tanklike tremolos and even minor shred at times. The music is just so inviting to crowdkill to and has a joyful edge to it that makes me smile at times. Scrap Pile don't do anything new, but they do everything right for the most part - maybe taking the hokey and oddly paced intro out of it. I really didn't need any faux-orchestral wankery for my slam album. If this was an attempt at subverting expectations, however, they did succeed.
Rating: High 6/10
Metalligatorrr's Chomping Commentaries
Birdflesh - Sickness in the North
Genre: Grindcore
Label: Everlasting Spew Records
Release Date: 21-4-2023
Hot on the heels of a fantastic year for grind, Birdflesh decides to continue that streak with Sickness in the North. Inside these 27 minutes you will find a lot of that bounce and irreverent humor that is typical of Swedish Punk mixed with razor sharp riffs. With only two of the songs barely reaching the 2 minute mark, the album flows like it is falling down a set of stairs, just like any Grind should. It is still packed full of ideas and while it is not quite the genre transcendent experience that will convince anyone, like Wormrot's smash-hit Hiss, regulars will find plenty to love. From NES game boss battle riffs ("Welcome to the Jungle Rot") to sing along tunes about bringing Brutal Death Metal to Japan ("Hammer Smashed Japanese Face") to a 10 second tremolo that sounds like a Black Metal parody ("I Will Never Rot"), there are always plenty of fun ideas right around the corner.
With songs as short as these, there is always a danger that they flow into one long song of similarly sounding material. Birdflesh avoid this not only by variety, but also by centering their songs around simple ideas that are accentuated well by the vocals. Longer numbers like "Funeral Orgy" and "Natural Born Filler" switch up the tempo in small but effective bursts and the vocals follow suit. Late album "ballad" about someone's mom "Fat Pigs" arrives timely to provide a breather and bewilder with its lyrics and wonderfully ugly sounding flute playing. It is a fun gasp for air before the album furiously rushes to its end, demonstrating that Birdflesh have a good sense of pacing. There is nothing on here that is going to blow your socks off with innovation but if you are looking for a nice burst of energy, Sickness in the North will surely put a smile on your face.
Rating: Low 7/10
Fires in the Distance - Air Not Meant for Us
Genre: Melodic Death / Doom Metal
Label: Prosthetic Records
Release Date: 28-4-2023
Melodic Death Metal is a genre with an ever increasing hit/miss ratio. Largely, the genre keeps trying to edge into Pop while relying on the reputation of the older bands and it is not a place to go if you are looking for creativity. Occasionally, there are bands that remember that what the genre does great is to make Death Metal catchy without sacrificing most of the elements that makes it up. Go one step further and you will find young bands trying to switch things up by mixing unorthodox elements into the mix. Left unsure if I should put Fires in the Distance in this camp, they mostly make me think of a version of Be'lakor, if they would refuse to get out of bed. Melodic Death/Doom Metal is a very potent combo when it works, as Swallow the Sun have aptly showed us for years. An important aspect that makes this mix tick is very emotive playing set to contrasts and variety. Fires in the Distance fail on all of these accounts.
Distinguishing between the songs on Air Not Meant for Us is hard enough as it is because of a very comfortable mid-pace that the band relies on. This is not something unusual for Doom Metal, but like some of the better bands in that genre prove (like on the great debut from Slumbering Sun earlier this year), the sound of the band should be the backdrop or umbrella under which the songs display their ideas. The sound should not be the idea itself. And this is the second problem I have with Air Not Meant for Us; the songs all sound like they are made from the same template. Chugging background riffs, humming and/or epic synth-line in the background, lead guitar plays something predictable yet emotive over it, breakdown to twinkly piano that is meant to make the music pretty or add atmosphere, repeat. It is unfortunately predictable and blends into a single album-long song without direction. The musicians involved all seem capable enough but the Elevator Melodeath/Doom songwriting makes for music that I cannot remember a single note of when it stops playing, nor do I want to.
Rating: 5/10
Cosmo's Chaotic Curveballs
Cursebinder - Drifting
Genre: Post Black Metal
Label: Avantgarde Music
Release Date: 14-04-23
When one thinks of Post-Black Metal, the endless tremfests of Deafheaven or the snooze-tunes of Alcest usually come to mind. Cursebinder is neither of these bands. Eschewing traditional Post-Black Metal tropes, this band tends to play more on the Black Metal side of the equation, with swirling synths thrown into the mix that add a sense of hypnotic psychedelia to the material present. Cementing themselves as a totally new project in the Post-Black Metal scene, how do Cursebinder fare among the other genre veterans?
Drifting is a very hypnotic album. Nothing is played with a sense of urgency, yet everything (minus instrumental "Can They Hear Me") hits hard, largely thanks to the tasteful synths that are a key factor across this album. Punctuated by vocalist MP (Dormant Ordeal)'s snarls and barks, Cursebinder worms its way into the listener's brain and firmly lodges itself as a permanent resident with this album. The overall tone of this album is quite melancholic, with tracks such as "Becoming" and album highlight "Permeating the Undergrowth" (the album closer) showcasing this feel in terms of the choices of synth used and the sense of finality the latter track exudes. This closer works perfectly here, and it's the strongest track on the album.
Positives aside, there are a few choices here that leave me more confused than anything else. "Can They Hear Me" is a largely pointless instrumental interlude that suffers the fate of most interludes: either it would have worked better as part of another track or it would have been better if cut entirely from the album. "Every Tree a Sanctuary" deviates from the theme of the album overall, with synth choices sounding like they belong in an alien movie soundtrack rather than on this album. That being said, I find myself returning to this album rather frequently. Each listen has me discovering new things buried within the roots. To Drifting I'll return throughout the year and on Cursebinder I will continue to keep a close eye.
Rating: High 6/10
Becko - PRESENT DAY // PRESENT TIME
Genre: Metalcore / EDM / Hip-Hop
Label: Independent
Release Date: 21-04-23
Tagged as "Anime Metalcore", Becko plays a cornucopia of different genres of music, ranging from EDM to Hip-Hop to Metalcore. Prior to reviewing this, I was unfamiliar with this artist's work, having only heard what our own Scuttlegoat, Metalligator, and Trans-Dimensional Being refer to as "absolutely terrible". Needless to say, going into this I was not expecting much, and wow, I got exactly what I was expecting.
I am well aware I am not the target audience of Becko, but I find myself wondering who IS the target audience after listening to this album. The styles present here work well on their own, but together sound like an odd combination of (mostly) screamless A Day to Remember and a generic EDM act. In short, it's a mess. Anime styled voice samples are also present throughout the album. By far, the worst song on this album is "LOW-KEY GUY", with a whispered Japanese voice sample layered over a frantic synth beat. If there's one positive about this release, it's that the song "HYPNOTIZED" is the least offensive song present. I don't mind this song, as it sounds like something fit for jamming in the background while playing a video game. Much of the album seems like it's geared for video game background music, but the songs are so incredibly annoying that it would make me lose focus rather than have this going during a video game session. It doesn't help that Becko ham-fistedly shoves different genres and EDM styles into their songs akin to throwing things at a wall to see what sticks.
I try to approach everything I listen to with an open mind, to get the most out of each new thing and see the positives in it. I’ve not been tested as hard to do so as I was on this album. With songs ranging from being tolerable at best to excruciating at worst, I cannot in good faith recommend this album. There are plenty of other EDM-forward artists to select for club music or video game background music, such as Gabry Ponte, Lucky Luke, or Gaullin I would recommend in lieu of Becko. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find something to torture my co-writers with. Avoid this.
Rating: 2/10