Old Man Gloom-VIII: Light of Meaning and IX: Darkness of Being

I’m really identifying with this band’s name at this point in my life.  Sums up my mental space and station in life perfectly.

So, the Gloom drop another pair of albums this time around with less confusion surrounding them than the weird The Ape of God single album/double album/fake press copy album controversy from a few years ago.  And, once again, the side project of members of Isis, Converge and Cave In produces a piece of experimental art that is equal parts frustration and captivation.  I think on the whole that this album feels more like a composite of the members’ core bands rather than a cohesive Old Man Gloom release in comparison to their past output.  Certain songs feel like Converge songs.  Some like Isis songs.  Some like Cave In songs, especially with the addition of Stephen Brodsky as a full-fledged member following the death of Caleb Scofield.  All of the songs have a healthy dose of Aaron Turner just tinkering.

I feel like one’s enjoyment of this album is going to be directly correlated to the listener’s tolerance for experimenting (i.e. just fucking around in the studio).  Seriously, I’ve listened to both albums three times through and my reaction to them has been different each time.  First time through was, “Dude, someone just reign Aaron the fuck in.”  Second time through, I think I was in a more relaxed mindset and all the noises and fucking around made a little more artistic sense to the piece as a whole.  Last time through, I just wanted the producer to step in and do some serious cuts to all the fat on this thing.  Look, if you know Aaron Turner, you dude just likes to tinker.  He likes to make noises.  You find this shit in every project Turner is involved with.  And it drives me nuts.  But, I put up with it because for all of the self-indulgent shit you have to wait on him to get through, he’ll put together some just emotionally devastating songs and grooves that make wading through all the nonsense worth it.  Keep that in mind when listening to this one.  Have some patience because it takes some of these songs a while to get going.

Ultimately, these albums are fairly par for the course for Turner’s post-Isis output.  There is some truly memorable stuff on here buried amongst the meandering nonsense.  Is it worth your time?  I don’t know.  I think it kind of depends on your history with this style of metal.  I dig it…with some reservations.

3.5 flip flops out of 5

Inter Arma-Garbers Days Revisited

If you’re familiar with this site, you know my lukewarm opinion of cover albums.  By and large, they’re kind of filler.  I mean, there are some cover tunes that are cool, especially when artist really takes a different spin on the original and attempt to make the song their own or transform it into something completely new.  But, note for note covers are just kind of boring in my opinion and the original tunes are usually head and tails superior than the cover.  But, I get it from a cash grab perspective and from the point of view of the band just having fun in celebrating their musical heroes and inspirations.

So, here we have Richmond sludge merchants, Inter Arma, dropping a short covers album with what I guess is a tongue-in-cheek call out to Metallica’s Garage Days Re-Revisited with Garbers Days Revisited.  I have no idea who or what Garbers is, so don’t ask.  I probably wouldn’t have even bothered with a review for this one, but not only is the Covid-19 fiasco fucking up the concert scene, it is also creating massive delays in me getting my hands on new album releases.  I have a good five albums or so that I’m waiting on in the mail.  Sure, I could stream these albums online  and write about them, but that just feels like cheating and I know you expect more of me than that.  So, let’s jam some cover tunes, shall we?

This one is kind of all over the map artist-wise.  You’ve got a number of artists covered that seem like natural fits for Inter Arma’s sound such as Ministry (Scarecrow), Cro-Mags (Hard Times), Nine Inch Nails (March of the Pigs) and Venom (In League With Satan).  And these songs are all fine.  However, the album really stands out with some of the unexpected cover choices in Neil Young’s Southern Man, Husker Du’s The Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill, Tom Petty’s Runnin’ Down a Dream and a weird version of Prince’s Purple Rain.  Hearing these more  mainstream songs done in Inter Arma’s harsh sound really creates something new and cool.

Overall, not a bad attempt.  Some winners and some meh.  Overall, I’d put it right in line with all other cover albums.  Kind of cool a few spins, but probably forgetful in the long term.

3 flip flops out of 5

Green Carnation-Leaves of Yesteryear

Another band resurfaces after an extended hiatus.  This really seems to be a theme of late for a lot of bands.  It also seems as though this trend tends to be bands that were kind of in a middling level of success during their heyday.  It feels like Green Carnation is fairly emblematic of these kinds of bands.  They were never really a big band and were kind of more known from it’s members more famous prior bands.

Green Carnation was a Norwegian band with roots in the black/death metal realm, but plied their trade in more of a progressive metal/rock vein.  To me, they have always inhabited that sort of weird space between traditional Scandinavian black metal themes mixed with a bit of European power metal.  Kind of in the same vein as fellow Norsemen, Borknagar.  You’ve got a total of five songs on this latest platter.  So, expect songs crafted in the epic style.  Sonically, it’s fairly straightforward metal.  They aren’t going for cheap and easy hooks on this one, but seem to be striving for that epic, grandiose sound that is typical of these kinds of bands.

Overall, it’s not a bad album by any stretch, but it kind of failed to fully engage me.  It’s fine, as a friend of mine likes to describe works of art that are simply passable.  While the album is playing, it’s perfectly well and good.  As always, I just wonder how much I revisit this one in the months and years to come.

3 flip flops out of 5

Lamb of God-Lamb of God

Always a big day for me when these guys put out new music.  Even more so on this latest album since it is the first release since the departure of drummer Chris Adler from the Lamb of God fold.  Adler’s creative drumming style was a key facet to Lamb’s sound and I have been waiting with some trepidation as to how things would change with new skin basher, Art Cruz, on the the kit.

Before I get into the meat of the album, let me dispense with my universal pet peeve on album titles.  I fucking hate self titled albums.  I can understand it when it is a debut album.  However, here we are on album number fucking eight and you’re going with the self title.  I guess their argument is that this is the start of a new chapter in the band with Cruz coming on as a new member.  But, c’mon.  This is just a lack of creativity on the band’s part and you’re not escaping my wrath simply because you are one of my all-time favorite bands.  You’re better than this.

On to the music.  First of all, Cruz should be commended.  Coming in to fill Adler’s shoes in this band is a monumental task.  Dude sounds like Adler.  It really feels like he attempted to mimic Adler’s style and sound and if you didn’t know it wasn’t Adler playing on this album, I seriously doubt that you would notice a difference at all.  That’s about as high of praise as I can give Cruz’ performance.  This is coming from someone who was downright despondent when I learned of Adler’s departure from the band.  The only thing in his performance that is missing are the little dashes of creativity that Adler used to bring to his performances.  The little cymbal plays and intricate show-stopping drum fills really aren’t there.  But, that’s really a nitpicky criticism.  As I said, Cruz should really be celebrated for delivering a damn solid performance and helping the band not miss a beat in the drum department.

The album is really just a straight ahead Lamb of God album.  This hearkens back to Ashes of the Wake lyrically because it is very pissed off and it is very political lyrically.  From school shooting/gun culture, to the rise of hatred/racism, to consumerism, this album hits all of the fucked up trends in our country.  Musically, it is very aggressive and it doesn’t really stray from the signature Mark Morton/Willie Adler tag team riffs you’ve come accustomed to over the years.  I think my biggest complaint on the album overall is that they haven’t really pushed things in an overly creative direction.  Zero new ground has been broken by the band on this album.  Even though the riffs are strong and will get your juices flowing, they do tend to sound like things we’ve heard on previous albums.  And it feels as though some of the recycled ideas were done better the first time around.  Hell, we usually end up getting one or two of Morton’s oddball songs where he tries out some different directions for the band (and these usually end up being some of their more memorable songs) In the end, I’d slot this as a solid release by the band, but it doesn’t reach the heights of creativity as their classic period albums.  I’m not sure any of these songs are going to find themselves in their setlists five to ten years down the road.  Solid, but not inspiring release.

4 flip flops out of 5

16-Dream Squasher

Just to clarify, 16 is the band name.  It could also reference the seemingly myriad number of influences that seem to compose this band’s signature sound.  This is very, very dirty music.  I was kind of shocked when I discovered that these dudes hail from Los Angeles.  I don’t think anything this sludgey sounding should come out of such a pristine environment as L.A.  This music feels like it was created in a swamp.  I’d call this mainly sludge metal, but there’s more than that.  As stated, there are a ton of different sounds composing these songs.  There’s a a good dose of Crowbar-ish sludge, a bit of hardcore punk, some retro psychedelics, a hint of some progressive moments and finished off with a Sabbatherian sheen that makes it all come together and feel familiar.

4 flip flops out of 5

Sorcerer-Lamenting of the Innocent

Sorcerer is a doom metal band much in the same vein as fellow countrymen Candlemass.  Slow and epic tales of woe, occult and fantasy are on tap.  In a way, Sorcerer seems to blend a bit of power metal in with their brand of doom.  They never reach the galloping speeds of traditional power metal bands, but their sound has a bit of a brightness to it that seems to carry the hint of a sheen of power metal influence.  Also, vocalist Anders Engberg just hits those high notes that are kind of a hallmark of the power metal scene.  As I stated before, it’s all very Candlemass-ish.

Sorcerer is one of these strange entities that formed in the late-80s, but never were able to release their first proper album until 2015.  This marks album number three since their official debut and they are proving to be a productive and fairly consistent entity as far as quality.  Lamenting of the Innocent doesn’t quite reach the heights of The Crowning of the Fire King did in 2017, but it is still a fairly solid slab of metal.

3.5 flip flops out of 5

Witchcraft-Black Metal

Witchcraft – Black Metal Review | Angry Metal Guy

This album title feels like a troll.  There is absolutely nothing metal happening on this album.  Honestly, there’s not much in the traditional sense of the band Witchcraft going on with this album.  This feels like a continuation of vocalist (and really only member of Witchcraft left) Magnus Pelander’s solo album, Time, from a few years back.  It’s just Pelander and an acoustic guitar presenting some very dreary songs.  I’m not opposed to acoustic albums per se, but it doesn’t feel like this one every really gets off the ground.  The songs feel so insular and isolating that they almost reach into that singer/songwriter territory that becomes downright irritating and self-absorbed.  Many times during my listens of this album, I kept imagining that scene from Animal House when Bluto grabs the hippy crooner’s acoustic guitar and smashes it to kindling.  I’m just kind of confused about putting the Witchcraft name on this album.  As I said before, it feels like this is a direct continuation of his previous solo release.  I wish he would leave the Witchcraft name for his metal output.

2 flip flops out of 5

Wolftooth-Valhalla

Album #2 from this underground metal band from Indiana.  Overall, it a fairly jamming affair of traditional metal tunes.  It’s catchy and got me fist pumping and air guitaring a couple of times, but I’ve got to knock it a little bit just due to a lack of originality.  Honestly, my first thought upon hearing the first riffs on this thing was, “Wow!  It’s awesome to hear The Sword back at it!”  Guitar sound and song structure is right out of The Sword’s playbook.  Sabbathy influenced with a bit of traditional 80s metal thrown in for good measure.  Also, I think we as a metal community need to acknowledge that we have reach peak Wolf branded bands.  Wolfheart, Wolf, Wolfmother, Wolves In The Throne Room, Lazer Wolf, etc.  I could go on and on.  Hell, we even stumbled across a band called Wolfcock during a doozy of a SXSW show (a friend bought a t-shirt of theirs and it’s one of my great regrets not purchasing one myself).  Anyway, add Wolftooth to the myriad of wolf body part band names.

Anyway, I kid the Wolftooth boys.  It may not be the most original release to come out this year, but as I said earlier, it does rock pretty damn hard.  It’s just not really breaking any new ground.

3 flip flops out of 5

 

Ulcerate-Stare Into Death and Be Still

It’s a bit of a dichotomy on this album.  On the one hand, you’ve got the title “Stare Into Death and Be Still”.  Bleak as fuck.  On the other hand, this band hails from New Zealand, which has handled the pandemic in more of an adult fashion than any other country on the planet.  Things are actually really positive in that country.  It’s amazing what having competent leadership in government and a unified national strategy can do.  I’m not bitter or jealous or anything like that.  I’m sure our orange turd is doing his best.

So, what the fuck?  Why the bleak shit, men of Ulcerate?  Shouldn’t you be a little on the positive side these days?  OK, OK, I know.  This is your gig.  It’s a bleak wasteland in which you wallow.  And once jumping into this latest cesspit of darkened sludge that is Stare Into Death and Be Still, I think you’ll actually enjoy the ride into despair.  Ulcerate has always been one of those bands that can craft discordant and unsettling songs that still remain somewhat weirdly calming.  This isn’t a hook laden album.  No catchy choruses here.  The songs are more atmospheric in their structure and I think that’s why I find Ulcerate’s music relaxing even though it is very extreme and very dark.  This will be another one that just pairs perfectly with the horrendous shitstorm of 2020.

4 flip flops out of 5

Paradise Lost-Obsidian

Caveat:  I seriously thought about putting the blog on hiatus for a while in light of all of the monstrous amount of terrible shit going on in the world right now.  I’ve been having a hell of a time getting enthused about anything right now because it really feels like the country is imploding before our eyes.  Reviewing metal albums just doesn’t feel overly important right now and I’ve been having a hard time coming up with anything to write with all of the turmoil going on in my head.  Greater than 100,000 people dead due to a pandemic due primarily to a complete lack of an unified response at the federal level.  Greater than 40 million unemployed due to said pandemic and bungled response.  The systematic continuation of police brutality.  The fanning of racist flames by a narcissistic con man and wannabe dictator.  Fascist and authoritarian tactics by the federal government in response to citizens exercising their right to peacefully protest.  In the end, I have decided to keep blogging about metal in light of all of the horrible shit just to have some semblance of a frivolous distraction.  Just keep in mind that I’m pissed.  I’m scared.  I don’t have answers.  I feel completely hopeless and don’t know exactly what to do.  I just know that Trump and his cronies are a cancer and we can’t continue on this path.  Anyway, that’s all I have to say about that for now.  If any of this take offends you, feel free find your metal news elsewhere.

Anyhoo, thanks for letting me get that off my chest.  On to the metals and sorry to Paradise Lost for having to share time with a personal aside.

Doom metal is a pretty good soundtrack to these times.  And you’d be hard pressed to find anyone doing it better and in more of a classy way than Paradise Lost.  These Brits have been one of England’s brightest metal faces over the past 30 years and they never seem to disappoint in terms of quality and in terms of pushing their musical art ever forward.  This latest album feels very similar to their more recent output and there’s isn’t a dud track on the entire album.  This is simply a very quality album produced by guys that have been doing it for a very long time.  You’re in good hands here.

4.5 flip flops out of 5