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 monthly post. I listen to mostly metal, but I do not limit myself to any genre.
Shadow of Intent - Elegy
Genre: Symphonic Deathcore
Label: Blood Blast
Deathcore is a genre oft maligned by people who grew up with old school Death Metal (which is true for me, as well). Yet, I do not hate the genre on principle. I actually enjoy hardcore in my Death Metal quite a bit, as this ongoing Slamuary project should be an indicator of. Over the years, I came to dislike the usual deathcore tropes though and I am always on the prowl for Deathcore that defies these tropes. So why is it that, whenever a metalhead recommends me "one of the few good Deathcore bands", they end up just being the same amalgamation of tropes? It is because of that that I never checked out Shadow of Intent, despite people recommending them to me frquently. Having now checked out their new album, "Elegy", I knew this was a mistake.
I didn´t quite know Deathcore could be quite this cheesy and still be enjoyable. Shadow of Intent lean into it all and corny Symphonics permeate the album. I particularly like the piano in "Saurian King", that drenches the first breakdown of the album (what restraint, a whole song without!) in some much needed brie. Generally, the band manages to a) have not as many breakdowns as many purveyors of the more flanderised deathcore variety like to cram into a song and b) sell me on those that are on this album enough to never get bored. There are only a few hiccups on the album (like the voiced frys on quasi-ballad "Life of Exile" or the existence of that song to begin with), but I can clearly identify these as me-problems and if you, like me, actually like the idea of deathcore more than the usual execution, Shadow of Intent is a good band to check out.
Rating: 6/10.
Spider God - Black Renditions
Genre: Raw Black Metal / Pop
Label: Death Prayer
Spider God were a band that I would always see on bandcamp browsing for new stuff. I´d open their page, scroll down to the tags, see "Raw Black Metal" and pass. The other day, however, I saw this in most sold on bandcamp and decided to just hit play blindly. I was not aware that this would be a cover album of old, somewhat trashy pop songs set to raw black metal. I quickly found myself shouting along to almost all songs in my car and extending the drive just a little bit so I could finish. Normally, I hate stuff like this, but Spider God somehow just works.
I wonder why, and strangely, I think its because he applies a very similar template to the metal songs that he covers. Mostly, whenever an artist does something like this - like Frog Leap, where Rabea Massaad regularly goes to waste his talent - it just ends up being pop again but with heavily distorted power chords below it. Spider God, however, forcefully makes everything a black metal song, forgoing everything but what matters in a pop song - a catchy melody. Black Renditions just works: a constant onslaught of trem picking and infectious melodies and no I have no shame singing along to it. Only issue: I don´t know current pop, and I don´t know K-Pop. Yet he decides to end the album on it. Bummer...
Rating: 7/10.
Celeste - Assasine(s)
Genre: Blackened Sludge / Atmospheric Black Metal
Label: Nuclear Blast
I am always cautious when something gets released by Nuclear Blast. Regarding my personal tastes, the label is not really a stamp of quality. I liked Celeste in the past, having a specifically nasty approach to blackened sludge, somewhat inspired by the french avantgarde black metal scene without losing the groove and hatred that comes with sludge territory. However, looking at their discography, I have to realise that their heyday is somewhat behind them.
On 'Assasine(s)', Celeste iron out all the remaining crinkles in their sound. The production is clean, too clean in my opinion, and lacks the edge that music that supposedly is hateful would need. There is an increased focus on melody and atmosphere, both things that have not been integral ingredients to Celeste`s sound in the past and are not their strong suit. The album appears trimmed down in comparison to their past material (which admittedly had a tendency to feel a bit bloated). Overall, I find 'Assasine(s)' to be the least disagreeable of the bands output - but also the most lacking in character. Another band absorbed into the moloch that is nuclear blast, sadly.
Rating: 5/10.
Pensées Nocturnes - Douce Fange
Genre: Avantgarde Black Metal / Neoclassical
Label: Les Acteurs de L`Ombre Productions
When I started out listening to metal, I believed france to be a country devoid of quality music in the genre. I believed that there is Gojira and Blut Aus Nord and not much else. Since then, especially since being more open-minded about some other metal genres than death metal, I learned that there is indeed much good music to be found in the country. Igorrr in particular became one of my favorite active projects and the promise of a band sounding like Igorrr makes me rush to check it out. Pensées Nocturnes indeed show some stylistic similarities to Igorrr - or rather, they sound like one very specific aspect of Igorrrs sound. On 'Douce Fange', Pensées Noctunres play neoclassical black metal inspired by classic french folk music. Pensées Nocturnes are very uninterested in sounding evil all the time and the style has a specific "Whacked out" feeling to them, not unlike Igorrr without breakbeats and electronic flourishes.
This lack of variety is ultimately what prevents 'Douce Fange' from being truly great. Most styles without much variation would grow tiresome if extended to 49 minutes, and that is no exception here. The upbeat and fun nature of the music is enjoyable for the most part, but after about 6 of the 9 tracks, the album just refuses to end. This is further exemplified by the adaptations of classical music that Pensées Nocturne go into mainly at the back half of the album. While they do add vocals and a metal instrumentation, you will have heard these pieces before and the fact that it basically is not original material makes me question their inclusion. Having said that, this is not a dealbreaker. Pensées Nocturnes pull of an extravagant style very well, play tightly and locked in and, at the end of the day, are clearly having lots of fun doing it.
Rating: 6/10.
Mizmor - Wits End
Genre: Funeral Doom / Ambient
Label: Gilead Media LLC
I struggled with writing this review for a while. The reason for this is that I think that the album, for all its qualities which I will go into below, has a gaping flaw: I don´t actually think this is an album. It doesn´t work as an album, or an EP, as the two tracks, despite being quite beautiful and harrowing respectively, have little to no relation and don´t seem to interact much either. Having said that, I was looking forward to a release of the first track in particular, the titular "Wit´s End". This track was premiered with an (admittedly low budget) music video specifically commissioned at roadburn and the serene, lowkey sadness of the whole thing still lingers for me. It is minimalist as far as funeral doom goes, but it is building to something and the little intensity that it builds up by the end is more than worth it, even without the accompanying music video.
"Pareidolia", however, is not metal at all. This track is an ambient track that doesn´t build on the themes or the mood of the first track. After the first track, "Pareidolia" feels mostly like a release, a space to inhabit. Having said that, however, "Pareidolia" is quite lush and while I have to admit that the track probably would have had the similar effect if a minute or two were trimmed off of it, it still does feel pleasing to listen to the whole way through.
The feeling lingers for me - was this just a track that he had laying around after it was commissioned for roadburn, then fluffed up to an EP by an experimental ambient track tacked on to the end of it? In the end, it probably doesn´t matter, as both tracks are good and no overthinking might be necessary.
Rating: 7/10.
Pestilectomy - From Vulnerable to Funeral
Genre: Slam
Label: Realityfade
Another one where I can´t quite justify the full review, but that I like too much to bury it in the slamuary tab: Pestilectomy are a dumby slam outfit that does nothing but slam. Different to Eradication of the Unworthy Infants, this band does not drift into beatdown but honestly never leaves the Slam Realm at all - well except for two times, when there suddenly is a trap instrumental happening. An odd choice, but I can´t say I hate it or it doesnt work. In fact, I think Pestilectomy do this with more restraint and irony than the band that introduced that to this extreme metal realm, Fluids. Pestilectomy won´t turn any heads on record, but are probably rather fun to crowdkill to.
Rating: 6/10
Slamuary - the pointless Quest to listen to all January Slam
I like to set myself little listening projects and for January 2022, I decided to listen to all Slam released to bandcamp throughout the whole month. I´ll refrain from reposting the album covers, as the writeups are short and the album covers would clutter the page too much. If you crave some gore, however, feel free to head over to @scuttlegoat_reviews on Instagram and see all of them in their disgusting glory. Inhumane Existence - Dehumanized
A band that slams well and does it a lot. Very occasionally they do something to break the monotony like a black metal part, melodeath riffing or tapping sections. Overall not bad, but the slam oversaturation is really getting to me.
Rating: 5/10.
Effluence / Blowtorch SPLIT
Effluence made some waves in the underground for...what reason? I really do not know. Effluence are certainly extravagant with the random free jazz freakouts (I suspect sampled) but not in a way that is in any way enjoyable or makes sense. The album is kind of a slug, despite the beautiful pong of the snare. Rating: 3/10.
Botched Vasectomy - Hepatoxic Houseplant
Not even 5 minutes of groovy goregrind. Vocals include gurgling, gargling water and more. Some of the worst guitar tones I've heard so far.
Rating: 4/10
Vile Reflux - Mors X Esuri
Is that enough bass drops already? Jeez, it would be enjoyable enough slamming deathcore if the darn bass drops would stop for just a couple bars. I do not even quite get the placement a lot of the time?
Rating: 4/10
Ashes of Ariandel
Slamming deathcore with mostly breakdowns and the electronic flourishes that were en vogue a couple of years ago. I believe this is Dark Souls themed, which I'll take over christian any day.
Rating: 5/10.
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