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.
Scuttlegoats Curmudgeos Critiques
Arch Enemy - Deceivers
Genre: Melodic Death Metal / AOR
Label: Savage Messiah / Century Media
I am usually not frustrated with acts that produce meaningless crap because of some missing talent or education (or both). The most frustrating acts are acts like Arch Enemy, who are filled to the brim with talented musicians. Amott and Loomis have at one time been some of the most forward thinking metal guitarists, while White-Gluz had a more unique take on the (often overdone) Angel vs. Devil approach to vocals that Metalcore and certain acts in Melodeath like going for. Yet, it seems that Arch Enemy is merely a money making machine for those involved; after all, who cares if ten people think your album is a 10/10 if you could have 10000 that think it’s a 6/10 and still purchase it? This is the fundamental dilemma of marketability and it has often led to the uniqueness of the artistic voices of those involved to wither away.
Even more frustrating, there does not really seem to be any drive left to be heavy or transgressive - or even particularly melodic. Strip the harsh vocals away and maybe add some synths and you have a stadium rock album on your hands. The harsh vocals at this point seem to be little more than a crutch, an easy and straightforward way to hide that this material, despite being immensely pop-oriented, is not particularly catchy or memorable at all. All the other markings of arena rock are there - the pounding drums, the slow mid-tempo (that still makes sense even if heavily delayed by the distance to the stage in a stadium) and the incredibly straightforward song structures. But ultimately, Arch Enemy do not even deliver on what this genre usually promises. I don’t feel energized, or engaged and I don’t feel motivated to pump my fist in the air. With musicians this talented, you can’t even call this half-assing an album anymore. Quarter-assing, maybe?
Rating: 4/10
Fugitive - Maniac
Genre: Thrash Metal / Crossover
Label: Independent
Riley Gale’s passing definitely sent some ripples through the metal community. As often, there were as many people claiming a deep connection to Power Trip without ever having heard them as there were people who actually had been fans from the very beginning. I personally found “Nightmare Logic” to be probably one of the best albums of the crossover thrash revival, if not the best. “Nightmare Logic” was as simplistic as a record like this could be, and yet managed to never become boring and always kick ass. Finding a replacement for Gale must have been hard, but Blake Ibanez got a new band together. It will be tough to separate Ibanez’s original act from Fugitive’s work and take them for their own merits.
In many ways, Fugitive does sound a lot like Power Trip though. Similar to Power Trip, Fugitive rarely become blazing fast and their strongest moments are when they present the listener with knucke-dragging hardcore grooves that are tinted with thrash energy. Vocalist Seth Gilmore is likely the biggest difference in sound to Power Trip. Production wise, he sits more upfront and his vocals are more of a classic growl than the semi-yell Gale was doing. Similarly to Power Trip, the material is consistently enjoyable. A special shout out has to go to that Snare Drum. I don’t know what it is, but it just sounds so energetic and punchy over my speakers and it really does a lot to give the material the driving power that is needed. Some people say a good snare is half of the album, and they’re not wrong.
Rating: 6/10
Severed Headshop - The Fuckening
Genre: Death Metal / Grindcore
Label: Everlasting Spew
Still recovering from what I will lovingly call the "Post Wacken Plague" (but what is probably more accurately called a case of pneumonia or dust lung), my mind isn’t really attuned for any gourmet listening. Luckily, Severed Headshop had served up a wonderful little EP with the equally wonderful title “The Fuckening”. The band serve up a thrashing, slamming, grooving slab of Deathgrind that manages to hit through the uncomfortable haze that comes with my situation. While none of the material is particularly out of the ordinary, I feel Severed Headshop don’t need to do anything out of the ordinary because they manage to write songs that are never fully predictable.
Something that sets Severed Headshop definitely ahead of the rest however, is their sample usage. While the album isn’t overly populated with it, the usage of the captain from the SpongeBob opening to open the album feels like it is hyping up the album much more than any two minute horror sample ever could. This is also in line with the bands sense of humor, which I similarly appreciate. The absurd bluntness of song and album titles approaches self-parody and is ultimately a signifier that, yes, this is not meant to be taken too seriously. Still, the band appears committed to their brand of brutality and 20 minutes is a good length for the style they have chosen.
Rating: 6/10
Streambleed - United in Hatred
Genre: Groove Metal
Label: Independent
It is a tough challenge to review an album in a genre I do not like without just mercilessly beating up on it. After all, a piece of art should be rated by what it is trying to do not by what the listener wishes to impose on it. After I had met a member of the band (I think?) in the Wacken village last week, where he was trying to sell some of his bands CD’s and get some exposure, I pledged some support because I certainly respect the hustle. As it turns out however, Streambleed play a style of Groove metal with a slight thrash inflection - really not something I am into, usually.
Approaching the album from what it is trying to do, I can say that it is at least competently played and produced. The material is tight and has (for groove metal) a surprising amount of variation in it. I could probably distinguish these songs given enough listens and never does the band play sloppily or with less than the necessary energy. Similarly competent is the production. While it could maybe use some more character (it sounds a bit digital), every instrument sits where it needs to sit and all the individual players have the room to be noticed. The only “objective" flaw I can find regarding the album is the ballad “Delusion”, which simply does not work with the singers voice and is completely unnecessary on an album such as this one. Cutting “Delusion” (and maybe one of the shorter cuts) would have brought the album to a tight 45 minutes and likely provided some more focus that is important with material so straightforward and song oriented. Overall, even though I can’t get into the style, you should probably still give Streambleed a chance, if Groove Metal is at all what you like.
Rating: 5/10
Metalligatorrrs Additional Albums Assesments
Amon Amarth - The Great Heathen Army
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
Label: Metal Blade Records
I am not one of the folks who insist that Amon Amarth keeps releasing the same album over and over. I’ve always felt that they consistently tweak the formula enough to make things interesting and sometimes even produce good work like recently with “Deceiver of the Gods” and “Jomsviking”. Both of those albums started leaning on the Iron Maiden side of Melodeath but then the creative juices seemed to run dry with “Berzerker”. That album was exactly what I’d consider making a bland paste of Amon Amarth songs that bored me to tears. Along comes The Great Heathen Army with its LARP album cover and I start to get worried. Have Amon Amarth finally gone lazy?
At the start of the album I’d answer yes right away. In truth, it’s a bit more complicated than that. This album seems to pull things back a bit more to their death metal days. It feels heavier than the last few albums but in a way that seems to be purely for contrast. The heavy sections aren’t that well executed and at worst the guitars just chug along like in the title track. But then Heidrun shows up and interrupts the usual Viking drama at the end of the song with some humor. The album somehow takes weird risks in moments and then completely retreats into the established Amon Amarth style. Other moments crop up like this in “Saxons and Vikings” with its full Iron Maiden mode over which Hägg's vocals clash with the vocalist of Saxon, the 90’s RPG video game choir in “Skagul Rides With Me” and the left field Paradise Lost riffs that lead “The Serpent's Tail”.
What I hear on this release is a band that’s torn between experimenting and being consistent. It sounds either undercooked or not daring enough and once again falls into the danger of being that Amon Amarth record that gets released over and over. I like some of the ideas present here but as a whole the album doesn’t convince me to stick around. I’ll see you next time, guys. I just hope that there are still next times such as “Jomsviking” and “Deceiver of the Gods”.
Rating: 5/10
Patristic - Apologetica
Genre: Blackened Death Metal
Label: Independent
I can’t help comparing the debut EP of Patristic to the 2022 album by Haunter. Both released in May, play blackened death metal and use dissonance sparingly. Patristic errs more on the black side of things and construct songs that swell and build towards something that never fully materializes. Whereas Haunter seem to have reached for some more coherent songwriting and a full sound, Patristic instead aim for overpowering production and grimy dissonance meant to shock and promote unease. There’s nothing wrong about doing it this way but the songs end up a bit aimless.
Given that this is a debut EP I won’t fault the band for not having a full focus on the character of their music yet, they might be just working that out so far. I will say that some of the riffs that splice in some dissonance and the quieter parts for atmosphere seem like a step on the right path. Like the well done album cover shows, it’s not enough with only the mysterious atmosphere - you need something firm to grab on to as well. Let’s hope these guys find it on their next release.
Rating: 5/10
The Halo Effect - Days of the Lost
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
Label: Nuclear Blast
“Lost Days” might have been a better title for this album as these former members of In Flames, joined by Dark Tranquillity vocalist Mikael Stanne, seem to be making up for the years that has passed since Jesper Strömblad left In Flames in 2010. It might be tempting to blame everything that befell In Flames on Anders but as this album shows, Jesper himself is still stuck in the watered out Melodeath sound of the 10s. In Flames started losing a lot of what made them interesting early on and some of the material on albums like Soundtrack to Your Escape and Reroute to Remain is just as trite as their Hot Topic-era.
But rather than whining at the sound (that’s Anders’ job) the focus here should be on the songs. Who will like this album? What era of In Flames fan will be interested in this album? None, it seems, as this album is actually a modern Dark Tranquillity album with old In Flames playing as a backing band. Jesper's leads are instantly recognizable with their latter era sentimental sound on full display. It’s interesting that he can mimic the Dark Tranquillity sound so accurately. The first song presented is Jam (In Flames), the second Peanut Butter (Dark Tranquillity) and starting with song three the band attempts to combine them for the ultimate Gothenburg experience.
How do you fail to make a simple sandwich like this? You use too much of one ingredient. It comes together well in the song “Conditional” where a typical DT attack of thrash makes a baton pass for a typical groove you’d find in early In Flames. Elsewhere the album always errs on the Dark Tranquility side of the spectrum. The material here isn’t atrocious but it doesn’t make the case for itself well. As a DT album it pales in comparison to the vitality that burst from the seams of “Atoma” and doesn’t have the darkness from odd records like “We Are the Void”. If this album’s mission statement was to proclaim who the members are, mission accomplished! But they will need to prove that they actually have something to offer where bands like Insomnium, Carcass and The Black Dahlia Murder (even Dark Tranquillity!) have been pushing the genre forward in the last decade.
Rating: 4/10
Blárs Blurbs
Locrian - New Catastrophism
Genre: Drone / Noise / Ambient / Electronic / Doom Metal
Label: Relapse / Profound Lore
On first glance New Catastophism could look like a very one note dredging drone release, but if you descend below the surface you’ll find a beautifully textured album with a lot to discover. I’m pretty fascinated by the language of music, where interpretation can vary greatly from person to person. What are the rules for encapsulating a certain feeling if there are any? The opener “Mortichnia” starts off the record in a very quiet and brooding pace in reference to its name, which is a term for the last walk of a living creature. A “death march” that has been found preserved as fossil footprints by ancient sea creatures. When I hear “Mortichnia”, I see a road with heatwaves rising from the ground, the image might be evoked by the wavering guitar layers coupled with the outdrawn tonal landscape created by the synthesizers. I sense danger reflected in the slightly alarm-like signals wailing ominously in the mix. If this is an attempt at expressing a march of death it is pretty effective, later in the track you can also hear a quiet lament from a distant choir. Following the death march comes “The Glare is Everywhere and Nowhere Our Shadow”, presumably referencing an article written by Maxim Gorky called “Boredom”. Here we’re drawn further down into the depths of despair, which the music reflects masterfully with its subdued screams and ruinous humming guitars. At this point some listeners might possibly be worn out by the suffocating atmosphere but the build-up to “Incomplete Map of Voids” is very important for the expression of the record as a whole. It wouldn’t create the same sense of relief if the first two tracks were shorter. The time spent in the low droning sadness contrasts the heavenly and hopeful melancholy of track three perfectly.
The last track on the album “Cenotaph to the Final Glacier” introduces a seemingly new soundscape to the lineup. Ritualistic, with its insistent drums and swirling guitars. But in the background there’s still a low and pressing synthesizer signal, maybe to musically reflect a constant reminder of the imminent death that everything faces, both animal, human and glacier. We all move closer to our own separate ends every second as time marches forward.
Rating: 8/10
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