Interesting little death metal album from Denmark, this one is. (I’ve been watching The Clone Wars lately. Rubbing off on me, Yoda is). Interesting I guess primarily in that it is a rare drummer-led project. Martin Haumann, drummer for Final Hour and live drummer for Myrkur, has had this solo project for some time now and is just releasing the proper full-length debut album for the project. Haumann handles the vocals and drums on the album and recruited Steve DiGiorgio (Testament, Sadus, Death, and virtually every other metal band you can possibly think of) to play bass and an unknown kid named Frederik Jensen to play guitar. The result is a fairly progressive and thrash oriented death metal album. Pretty standard stuff with some interesting choices mixed in here and there. Overall, pretty enjoyable listen.
Band break-ups suck. But, like a lot of things in life, things don’t always work out. However, on occasion, both camps in a split end up winning in a way. The Brazilian death metal band Nervosa split up a few years back. Guitarist, Prika Amaral, retained the Nervosa name and recruited a slew of badass musicians to reconstitute the band. Lead vocalist/bassist, Fernanda Lira, and drummer, Luana Dametto, remained together and recruited a couple of badass guitarist to form the new entity, Crypta. From what I can tell, the split was amicable and only due to musical differences. So, all in all, a win for all concerned, I guess. Both bands have put out their first albums this year since the split and both albums are no-nonsense death metal with that distinctive Brazilian sheen. After hearing both solid albums, it feels like the fans are in good shape in that we are left to two very capable bands.
After the first listen to the Crypta debut, it definitely comes across as a declaration of a band that is not fucking around. The two guitarists are given plenty of room to announce their presence in a loud and commanding manner. They flat out fucking shred. Major props to Dametto’s performance on the drums throughout this one as well. This feels as close to a downright Chris Adler-level performance of intricate drumming as I’ve heard in a while.
It’s a great start for a fledgling band looking to define itself.
Nice goat. Goats are fantastic. I’m not really sure where the “goats represent evil/the devil” comes from, but it’s kind of dumb. Goats are OK in my book.
Anyway, Alluvial is back with album number two (heh, heh…number two). First time around, this was a project of a couple of shredders named Wes Hauch (Black Crown Initiate) and Keith Merrow (Conquering Dystopia). Their first album was an instrumental album and it ended up making my Best of List back in 2017. Both of these guys are technical monsters, but are also very creative songwriters. The result was a nice mix of technical and experimental awesomeness.
On this latest album, Merrow has departed the fold and it is a Hauch led enterprises at this point. Hauch brought in a vocalist for Alluvial this time around and, as a result, the album has a much different feel than the debut. It is still the same sort of guitar work and sound, but the addition of vocals seems to have streamlined the songs into more straight-ahead death metal than the debut. I like a lot of the guitar work on here and I really feel like Hauch is an original voice in the modern guitar playing world. He really does have a distinctive style. However, it does feel like a bit of the adventurousness found on the debut has been dialed back a bit on this new one. The resulting product feels a bit more in line with a typical technical death metal album. It’s solid, but not great.
Yes!!! YesyesyesyesyesYES!!! This is the goddamn album I’ve been waiting on all year. The year in metal has felt a bit underwhelming so far. To be sure, there has been some decent material released this year, but on the whole, there hasn’t been a lot that has completely captured my imagination. Hell, if you’re a regular patron of this site, you’ve probably noticed a dearth of output on my part. The thinness of the music being put out so far is a big reason why. I just haven’t been inspired to write about much of what has been released so far.
I’ve dug King Buffalo for quite a few years now after seeing them open up for some other band a while back. I don’t even remember who they were touring with, but they made an impression as being a cool little trio. They’ve always been a little on the spacey side of stoner/psychedelic rock. This latest release feels like their definitive musical statement up to this point in their career. There is a driving intensity and a sense of urgency on this album. Their past albums tended to focus on songs that would deliver a slow burn that start out super mellow and build to a rocking crescendo. This latest album feels like the preludes have been dropped and they are just jumping right into the meat of the proceedings. This is one of those albums that will make you want to pull on your denim jacket, light up a Marlboro and throw your devil horns in the air. Just a pure slab of innovative guitar riffs and rocking good times.
OK, metal world. You’ve been put on notice. The bar has been set and it is fucking high. King Buffalo has finally grabbed it’s throne and is daring you to knock them off. Good luck.
Oh, and by the way, they are supposed to release two more albums this year. Dudes weren’t sitting still during the pandemic shutdown. I’m going to be floored if the other two are as strong as this one.
Hey! Red Fang is back! It always good to hear these sludgy moonbeans come out with some new music (and their untouchable accompanying videos). I love bands whose beer bellies match my own. It feels like a really long time since Only Ghosts came out in 2016. Hell, everything before 2020 feels like it was damn near 20 years ago.
Our boys aren’t straying too far from their much tread ground on this one. I’ll be completely honest, however: the production value on this one really did no favors for the songs on here. This is a very muddy mix. Which, OK, this IS a sludge band. I understand that. Things are going to be muddled and fuzzed. But, the bass is so far forward in the mix that the guitars feel almost invisible. The whole sound of the album really colored my initial couple of listens. However, stick with it. By spin #3, the whole thing started to gel a little better in my brain and I found myself really enjoying the songs for what they are. Shit, I was dead set on giving this one a mediocre 3 on the flip flop scale, but I think that last listen really bumped it up to a passable 3.5. The way this one is going, I’ll probably have to revise it to masterpiece level by spin 8 or 9.
It brings me great joy to type this: Look for these dudes on the road later this year! Yep, they’ve set dates. Live music is slowly coming back. Be an adult and get your fucking shots. Let’s see some fucking music and smash into each other. My flippy-floppies are ready!
Gojira has been riding a pretty decent wave over the past few years and are rightly seen as one of the shining stars in the modern metal movement. Fortitude will do nothing but further burnish their stellar reputation.
This latest album feels like a nice blending of both old and new Gojira. You’ve got plenty of songs of that classic hard driving, odd time signature and sweep picking sound they are know for along with some very forward-thinking and progressive pieces to keep things interesting. I felt like their last album, Magma, was a bit too stripped down and straightforward. This latest album feels a bit more ambitious and in line with some of their classic albums. Standout tracks that feel like they are pushing the band forward are the Sepultura-influenced “Amazonia” (focused on the burning down of the Amazon Rainforest…the dudes still have a very environmentally conscious focus lyrically) and the very proggy “Hold On”.
It’s hard not to feel like this is the best album to come out so far this year. It’s not perfect, but damn, there are some serious riffs and percussive grooves to this one. This will be a good one to hear live once shows become a thing again.
Whatever you do, don’t look up the uncensored version of the album cover. I know, I know. The above image was deemed palatable for public consumption. Let’s just say the unedited artwork on this slice of gore harkens back to the good old The Wretched Spawn and Tomb of the Mutilated-era artwork of Cannibal Corpse. It’s equal parts grotesque and offensive. I guess you can say the run of understated album covers by Cannibal Corpse has come to an end. At any rate, if you do buy the album or find yourself Googling the unedited artwork, don’t say that I didn’t warn you. It’s pretty fucked up.
And I think in light of all things 2020 and 2021, I think we simply deserve some fucked up shit. I feel Cannibal Corpse really missed an opportunity in not releasing this festering wound of an album in such a festering wound of a year (2020). It could have been the soundtrack to the pandemic.
This latest slab feels pretty much like Cannibal Corpse on autopilot. These guys do what they do and they are really good at it. The biggest difference on this current album is the addition of Hate Eternal’s Erik Rutan on guitar after Pat O’Brian had a complete meltdown a few years back. Things don’t miss a beat at all in that the chemistry between Rutan and Rob Barrett feels seamless. Rutan also steps up to the plate with quite a few songwriting credits along with Barrett, Alex Webster and Paul Mazurkiewicz.
Verdict: just a great Cannibal Corpse album for the fans of the genre. Nothing spectacular, but just a reliably solid release by one of the godfathers of gore.
Well, this is the one all the little prog nerds have been waiting on with baited breath: the reunion of Mike Portnoy and John Petrucci. Would they be able to recapture their past Dream Theater/Liquid Tension chemistry or have the years apart and acrimonious split dampened their creative teamwork? The album is finally here and we have some answers.
First, it’s nice to hear them together again. Dream Theater just hasn’t been the same entity since Portnoy left the fold. I think there is a very solid argument to be made that Portnoy is the glue or foundation that helps reign in the excesses of Petrucci (and Ruddess for that matter). Dream Theater has just been a rudderless ship without him
Second, this is kind of a weird album. First off, they’ve split it into the main album LTE 3 and then included a second disc entitled “A Night at the Improv” which is comprised of a bunch of excerpts of their jam sessions that took place in the lead-up to recording the new album. You would think this second disc would be just overindulgent bullshit thrown on to sell a “special edition”. Usually, that’s the case with these additional discs. However, in this case, I’ve got to say: I think the bonus material may actually be stronger than the album proper.
The main album is fine. It feels like they have tried to recapture the magic of the first Liquid Tension album in both musical feel and in the structure of the songs. Album opener, Hypersonic, is a blistering technical virtuosity barn-burner right in the vein of prior album openers, Acid Rain and Paradigm Shift. You’ve got a Portnoy/Levin odd bass/drum duet in “Chris and Kevin’s Amazing Odyssey”. You’ve got an overly melodramatic Petrucci/Ruddess composition. However, they do make the ill-fated decision to include their take on “Rhapsody in Blue”, the George Gershwin composition. For those of you my age, this tune simply bring memories of a United Airlines commercial. This ends up being a 13+ minutes snoozefest. Just a terrible inclusion on the album and it just brings the album flow to a screeching halt. No one likes United Airlines and their skies have not been friendly for some time now.
All in all, it’s fairly straightforward prog shit that is good, but never really reaches the high points of the first two Liquid Tension material. That being said, it is still light years ahead of anything Dream Theater has done post-Portnoy. The highlight of this album is closer “Key to the Imagination” which is the most forward thinking and innovative track on the album. Just a great riff and feel. It is complex without being showy or over-the-top. Seriously, I think if they had paired this last track with the songs included on the bonus disc, they would have had a much stronger album.
So, what’s up with the bonus disc and why do I like it so much? I’m not entirely sure, but it is just a much more enjoyable listen than the album proper. It’s like they were in a more relaxed mood during these sessions and the songs just seem to flow together more. It doesn’t feel like prog metal done by numbers and it doesn’t feel like virtuosity for virtuosity’s sake. So many of the tunes on the album proper feel like they are trying to check all of the boxes to get nominated for best guitarist/drummer/keyboardist in the various music rags. Sure, it’s impressive, but it all feels like we’ve heard it before. The bonus disc doesn’t feel this way. It just feels like musicians completely on the same wavelength and exploring where the vibe takes them. It’s an inspiring listen.
So, verdict: Happy to hear Portnoy and Petrucci together again. Really wish Mike Mangini would just step down from Dream Theater for the good of the entity so they can bring Portnoy back to where he belongs. Album is decent and the bonus disc pushes the entire thing to a higher rating than it deserves on its own.
Super groups are kind of like porn stars. Bear with me here. Much like it seems everyone who acts in pornographic movies is labeled a “porn star”, it feels like every time members of already established bands get together on side projects they are automatically dubbed “super groups”. I feel like this is a stretch on both counts. Whereas there have to be character or supporting actors/actresses in porn, there have to be side groups that fall into a category other than “super”, right? What are the qualifications that make a side project “super”? Is it just the collective resumes of the band members? Is it that the music created by said side project is so magical as to elevate the side project to “super” status? I don’t have any answers to these questions. Just something for you to ponder as we get into this latest installment of the Void.
Transatlantic is the prog “super” group made up of Neal Morse (ex-Spock’s Beard, Neal Morse Band), Mike Portnoy (ex-Dream Theater and every other prog project on earth right now), Roine Stolt (The Flower Kings) and Pete Trewavas (Marillion). All prog royalty indeed. We’re on to album number five for these guys which evidences some staying power. I guess it’s fairly safe to credibly characterize these guys as a super group simply based on the backgrounds of these guys. All of their albums have been decent, if not completely memorable, on their own. It feels like the latest album leans more into The Flower Kings sound more so than their past efforts, which felt more like celebrations of all things Yes. There’s just bit of hippyness to the proceedings here and there’s almost a Beatle-esque sound to some of the harmonics they are trying to pull off. Overall, there are some bright spots, but it kind of feels like the songs on this album have already been hashed out by the group. For a progressive group, the songs feel a bit, well, stale.
It kind of feels like this release is for those of you who have already been on the Transatlantic bandwagon. If you’ve enjoyed their past efforts, your bound to enjoy this one. Weirdly, they released two different versions of this album (I guess in the hope of getting uber-collectors to purchase both). There is the extended version called Forevermore which is a double album and then an abridged version called Breath of Life that is not only shorter in length, but also contains different versions of the songs that appear on Forevermore. I only purchased and listened to Forevermore and therefore, cannot comment on the quality of the abridged version.
Fairly straight-ahead grindy gore driven death metal out of Denmark on this one. It feels like we should be getting a lot more metal out of Denmark than we do. I’m sure there are a shitload of bands that I am forgetting, but off the top of my head, I’m thinking Mercyful Fate/King Diamond and fucking Lars. So, hooray for Baest for upping the count on badass metal coming out from one of my favorite countries. Seriously, if it wasn’t so damn cold there, I would really be seriously looking into becoming a Dane.
That was a bit of a digression. Sorry. My brain goes places, you know. Anyway, lyrically these guys are in the Cannibal Corpse/Exhumed realm of all things gross and disgusting. The difference here is that Baest is fairly accessible musically. Not a lot of surprises, but the guitar work is not so grinding as to make thing messy or unlistenable. Hell, there is almost a NWOBHM vibe in places on here. All in all, this is just a nice slab of death metal that doesn’t get weighed down by a sense of super seriousness. This is a fun one.
DISPATCHES FROM THE VOID 