DISPATCHES FROM THE VOID

Hmmmm. So, I’ll admit that I haven’t really followed along with Accept since their last split with Udo. I know the new guy, Mark Tornillo, has gotten pretty good reviews since he joined the band. But, I just couldn’t find my way to really caring that much about the band since he joined. Maybe it’s because it seems weird that American is now fronting what is quintessentially the most German of German metal bands. Maybe it’s because he reminds me of a shorter Dee Snyder. Maybe it’s because he’s the metal version of Kenny Chesney in that he’s never been seen in public without a hat. Hell, it’s probably more that I was only marginally an Accept fan even during their heyday. Their material has always been metal as fuck and those crunchy-ass Wolf Hoffmann riffs are the stuff of legends. But, they were always just a tad under Maiden, Priest and Saxon as far as quality metal in my opinion. Whatever the reason, I just haven’t been on the Accept bandwagon in a while.

So, maybe the shitshow of 2020 is getting me nostalgic. Hell, I even gave the new AC/DC album a chance and it was a very pleasant surprise. So, how does the new version of Accept stack up against the original? Man, pretty good, I’d say. I mean, Accept is basically just Wolf Hoffmann now. He’s the only guy left from the original band. And his guitar work is just what you’d expect. He’s really everything that you could expect out of a metal guitarist. He has that trademark crunch and it hasn’t changed a bit. Hell, I feel like I’ve heard many of these riffs before. Tornillo is fine. He brings a blend of Udo mixed with a smattering of Brian Johnson and Steve Souza of Exodus. I can see why the band has continued with their popularity with him on the mic.

However, the album is not a complete success. The biggest flaw has to be the lyrics. I’m not one to ever really get hung up on lyrical content. I’m really here for the music moreso than clever lyrics. But, come on. You guys have got to be in your 60s by now and you’re still rolling out song titles like “Sucks To Be You” and “Too Mean To Die”. The lyrics are so juvenile and simplistic that they simply jar me out of the song. Some of them are so bad that I honestly feel a little embarrassed listening to them.

Ultimately, if you are a diehard Hoffmann fan, this album will not disappoint. However, if you are an Accept newbie, go back and listen to Balls to the Wall or Restless and Wild.

3 flip flops out of 5

So, if you’ve been feeling a bit of a void in your life since the retirement of Slayer, have no fear. There’s a multinational band based mainly in Brazil that is armed and ready to fill that Slayer sized hole in your heart. The guitar work of Prika Amaral simply crushes from the first notes and her devastatingly crushing axe work doesn’t let up until the last bit of metal is wrung out of her strings. Vocalist Diva Satanica (I really hope that’s her given name) feels like she is channeling the love child of Tom Araya and Arch Enemy’s ex-vocalist Angela Gossow. Seriously, listen to the opening banshee wail that starts off Genocidal Command and tell me she’s not a dead ringer for a young Araya. Now, I’m not saying that Perpetual Chaos is Reign in Blood Part II, but this album has all the crunchy thrash riffs and blood-soaked lyrics even the most jaded Slayer fan could possibly want. These are not ladies to be fucked with and I hope to hear more of this kind of stuff out of them in the future.

4 flip flops out of 5

Asphyx is back after a five year absence with a new slab of classic death metal. Even though these guys hail from The Netherlands, Asphyx would easily slot in with the Swedish contingent of death metal bands that came up in the 90s. This one is fairly straightforward and reminds me quite a bit of mid-tempo At The Gates or The Haunted. If you’re feeling nostalgic for the 90s era of death metal, this one should scratch that itch. Or you could just go listen to the classics themselves. One complaint on this one is that the opening riffs to Three Years of Famine sound very reminiscent of Skullcrusher by Overkill. The song isn’t a ripoff of the prior song at all, but I’d be damned surprised if the guys weren’t spinning The Years of Decay prior to coming up with this riff.

3 flip flops out of 5

We’re heading to a non-traditional metal spot for today’s review. Miss Lava hails from Portugal. After listening to this album, I never would have pegged these guys as being from anywhere other than the high desert area of California. I mean, this album just screams Barstow, CA and a trunk full of psychedelics.

This is a bouncy slab of desert flavored stoner rock right in line with the lies of Fu Manchu or Kyuss. The guitar sound on here is just so bright and inviting that it’s hard not to find yourself not doing a boogie shuffle along with it. To make a more obscure jumping off point, this kind of reminds me a bit of King Buffalo if King Buffalo was a little less spacey and a little more pop oriented. This is a feel good record during a time that feels in need of a good time. Grab this one and crank it loud. It feels like that’s why this one was created.

3.5 flip flops out of 5

I’ve taken a bit of a break since wrapping up the 2020 Best Of list. New releases are starting to slowly worm their way out of the woodwork. So, let’s jump back into this thing again and see what the world of metal has in store for us in the year of 2021. It looks like this site is going to be entirely album reviews again for the foreseeable future since concerts are more than likely not going to be a thing this year. I mean, maybe we’ll get to go to a show towards the end of the year, but I’m not overly hopeful.

Anyway, we’re going to stay in the state of Texas for the first review of the year. Frozen Soul doesn’t exactly sound like something that would crawl out of the wilds of Fort Worth, TX, but there you go. You never know where exactly a frozen slab of death metal inspired by the classics of the genre is going to foment. This is the debut album for this group and it feels like they are wearing their influences proudly. I’m hearing elements of Death, Exhumed, Bloodbath, Carcass (especially on the title cut) and even newcomers Tomb Mold mixing around throughout these ten songs. There’s nothing on here that is going to completely blow your mind, but it’s a solid attempt. It’s one of those albums that you may feel like you’ve heard before, but not in an irritating way. This one feels more like a dank and sweaty dive bar that contains a frenzied pit. In other words, kind of like home.

3.5 flip flops out of 5