Sarke - Bogefod (2016)

When I was deciding to complete my reviews for the Sarke discography, a band I've long loved but never openly appreciated enough, I had a false memory that Bogefod was the worst of their albums, and thus it's the one I have the least experience listening to. I think I had it confused with one of the Khold albums or something, or maybe Araguint (which is also good), because it turns out total bullshit, the product of a mind cobwebbed with too much information. Bogefod is great, a record that sticks with its predecessors in style, but benefits from some fresh energy with the addition of the Kråbøl brothers Terje and Stian on the drums and guitar respectively. You might know them from other bands like Tulus, Khold, Gjendod and their namesake Kråbøl, all of whom you probably also enjoy (or would enjoy) if you like Sarke.

Bogefod isn't a far cry from the albums before it, no, but it's a little bit more vicious due to a mix that's a little more saturated, and this applies both to the more incendiary black/thrash material like "Taken" or the mood-setting, slower songs where the synthesizer plays a more dramatic, rainy role as in "Barrow of Torolv". There are great, soothing acoustic segues, a stab at some almost opera-like ethereal fare ("Dawnin") with folk singer Beate Amundsen, and a whole lotta great riffs slathered in Nocturno Culto's not so soothing bark, which to me is like having toast in the morning after listening to 35 years of his music. It balances the Hellhammer/Celtic Frost influences that have always informed this band's style with a few moments of more dissonant black metal, doom, thrash, folk, ambiance and while it's once again not quite the measure of the first two albums, it's very damn close.

In fact, this came out the same year as Arctic Thunder, my least favorite Darkthrone record (although not bad, per se), and I like this one much more. It's a bit more consistently catchy than Aruagint, has the slightly more acidic production and, when it wants to, sounds a little more 'dangerous'. It's things like this that are the reason I'm happy to go back through and cover discographies from bands I think deserve talking about, because occasionally you'll 'rediscover' something that you were either sleeping on, wrong about or just couldn't quite remember, and you'll be the richer for it. Bogefod is, like every Sarke album, worth a listen if not outright ownership, one of the black & roll royalty bands that should appeal if you like any other band I mentioned here in this review, mid-era Satyricon, or Slegest.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (He will not let death contain his madness)

https://sarkeband.bandcamp.com/

Protector - Cursed and Coronated (2016)

Cursed and Coronated is a difficult record to write about because it is so ridiculously close to its predecessor in production, songwriting and style that it's practically a clone of that. The lineup is the same, the level of aggression and dynamic range the same, they've even gotten another Krisian Wåhlin cover artwork (which is admittedly cool to see). So this is going to come down to the individual songs, blow by blow, and I think that if there's any one difference, it's that there is a little more confidence here. The 'comeback' album is out of the way, the band has proven itself, and can now settle down and just to try to pen some material which will make more of an impact, and I think to that extent, Protector's sixth LP does exactly that, slightly edging past its predecessor in quality.

It's reliable, meaty thrash, with riffing familiarities to their more famous countrymen. Still a whole lot of Sodom parallels, but I thought there were tunes here that reminded me a little more of Destruction, like "Six Hours on the Cross" or "Crosses in Carelia", which have those exciting Mike Sifringer-like riffing patterns saturated throughout. Actually you can play a fun game here where you're closing your eyes and imagining Angelripper singing on one of Destruction's Thrash Anthem rerecording compilations and you'd be straight in that ballpark with this album. That's not to speak down to this band, because they are energetic and authentic as hell, having been around during that formative 80s period when the genre was taking off, but just so you can get a clear idea of who is going to enjoy the hell out of this. There are some nice, eerie guitar melodies throughout the tunes, like the intro to the title track, which feel like the band is writing in its own little horror them jingles, and they balance well against the harder rhythms. Their also old hands at balancing the tempos and riff choices to make a fully fleshed out experience.

Rhythm section is tight as freshly-hammered nails, the guitarist is obviously reared on this genre because he's just battering out an endless stream of patterns you'll appreciate, at any speed, with even a few of the good old American mid-paced mosh rhythms circa Exodus or S.O.D. poking through in a piece like "Terra Mater". The 'death metal' aspects of the record are strictly relegated to Martin Missy's vocals, which are that early sort of abusive thrash/death hybrid, snappy enough for the former but guttural and brutal enough for the latter, with some backing vocals created in a more snarled timber which also emphasize that. Cursed and Coronated is another fun record, I spun it a bunch when it was released. Though it doesn't quite stand out in its field overall, and I wouldn't reach for it over Golem, The Heritage, A Shedding of Skin, it's potent and professional and the sort of disc I'll listen straight through without skipping anything.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10] (Facing the masters)

https://www.facebook.com/Protector.666not777

Deströyer 666 - Wildfire (2016)

Wildfire might lean a lot more heavily into the band's thrash/speed metal side than any of the other Deströyer 666 albums, but it also feels to me like the album I had been awaiting from them for a quarter century. The most memorable and resonant production, the best songwriting, the strongest riffs, and for my money, the best K. K. Warslut vocals across their entire discography. In fact, this album is so fucking good that I was quite surprised it had any sort of divisive reaction at all; this is the once in a lifetime sort of effort that I spend endless time spinning, replaying individual tracks to hear the cool bits but also able to run through the whole 40 minutes. There's no fat to trim, it's one of the most distinct records in this whole blackened speed/thrash trend that's been the rage for the last 20 years, and it was my top heavy record of 2017.

It's got a fairly uniform style to it, but enough variation within to entertain endlessly. All performances sound amazing, but I think where this album differs slightly is in how the higher-pitched guitars are so prominent in the writing. Between the trilly speed metal lines and the bleeding tremolo picked melodies, this album reaches for the stratosphere like no other in their backlog. Bash in some bluesy, burning leads, loads of gang shouts and a diabolical, raving and barking vocal delivery that is K.K.'s best, and then a few twists and turns back into a more traditional black metal territory and you've got a real beast. Most of the cuts are instantly catchy, with a few like "White Line Fever", "Die You Fucking Pig!", "Artiglio del diavolo" and the title track which shot up to my favorite Deströyer 666 tunes within minutes of hearing them. Those brighter and yet still threatening guitar lines burrow themselves directly into your spikes & leather psyche, and the balance of the mix against the vocals is perfectly effective. The drums are crashing and splashing and yet the bottom end also thunders all over the place, with all manner of interesting beats and fills that keep your attention whenever you can break away from those riffs.

There is a hurried intensity to the whole record that's beyond engaging, and it hasn't aged a day in almost a decade since I've heard it. A few of the lyrics to songs like "Hounds at Ya Back" and "Live and Burn" are a little more cliche or straightforward, less scathing than others they've written before, but that's a minor complaint when the music itself and the EXECUTION of those lyrics is spot on. There's also a cleaner singing/guitar section in "Tamama Shud" the closer which will come out of nowhere, but it's a tribute to a fallen friend and shows the band is still capable of a surprise, not that any more surprise is needed than a nearly perfect record kicking back after seven years with a slightly modified style that feels fresh but not wholly novel since you heard traces of this on at least three of the prior full-lengths. It's the chef's kiss, if that chef just cooked your meal with a blowtorch. I mean I enjoy thousands, but this is one of those hundred or so metal records I'd be proud to be buried with.

Verdict: Epic Win [9.75/10]

https://www.destroyer666.uk/

Dawnbringer - XX EP (2016)

Kind of how Into the Lair of the Sun God mirrored Nucleus,  XX is a stylistic sibling to its predecessor Night of the Hammer, which you probably could tell from the very glum nature of the cover art. There are a few differences, the production here really kicks ass, it's every bit as accessible as that last album but it's got more depth and power to it, and that has a transformative effect on some of the saddening heavy metal anthems here, giving them a brighter edge of hope. Chris has developed his vocals even further, and these might honestly be some of the best he's done throughout his career. It's a little hard to pinpoint, they've got a lot of NWOBHM influence to them, but I find it hard to think of the exact bands; essentially he's punching way beyond his range until he actually MAKES that his range, and that creates an immediate uphill, emotional battle which drives the music below. At least once or twice here he even reminds me of Jonas from Katatonia, just that sad, spoken harmonic style. Overall, the highlight of this EP.

The music is glorious too, though. Tunes like "Into the Maze" and "North by North" are similar in scope, with these bright, airy guitars, slow to mid paced rhythms, the latter having some great backup chants in the verses, maybe even a tiny ounce of later epic Bathory poking through. Leads are resplendent and bluesy and 'felt', rather than the more technical flights they provided on the past few records. Having said that, the riffs are themselves nothing too special, they all move along in a predictable fashion, it's just that they sound so well produced and supportive of the vocals that they succeed anyways. The opening tune "Why Would You Leave Me" is a little too short to leave any impact, that probably should have been extended or just left off to allow the better tracks to do their business. Also, I feel like it can get a little too emotionally 'one-note'. Basically, the three best songs here ("Into the Maze", "North by North", "Earth") would have been better utilized as parts of a more diverse full-length where they could be countered off with some faster tunes, busier licks, just something to give them more poignancy than running straight into one another. But I do dig much of this, especially the singing.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

Vektor - Terminal Redux (2016)

By the time Terminal Redux dropped, Vektor was already on a trajectory towards the stars, and I don't just mean the ones out in space that they so love to sing about, but the popularity contest that is American brutal or technical death metal, deathcore, and such. Though they already had two fantastic records under their belts, it seemed like it was this one where suddenly everyone started chattering about them everywhere, placing them on their year's end lists and starting to take it all very seriously. It's not hard to understand why, because the musicianship was formidable, there's a lot of weaponry DiSanto and company could attack with, and they were just plain ambitious when the idea of a technical death/thrash band seemed like an idea that was restrained to Florida and certain parts of Europe in the later 80s and early 90s.

There just weren't a lot of bands channeling Voivod, Cynic, Atheist, Deathrow, old Pestilence, and the like, and these are all components you might hear in Vektor's sound, though to their great credit, they are a copy of none of these. These cats have their own ideas, and Terminal Redux is quite a progressive offering, from the constantly shifting tone and riffing styles, to the ideas like the ethereal backing vocals on a couple of the tracks. This record is an adventure, one in which you don't know where all the turns are coming until you've experienced the entirely a few times over, and that's one of its strengths. Although Dave DiSanto's raspy vocals unify the whole, there's a huge plethora of rhythmic dynamics here, riffing sequences that feel like they took quite some effort to put together with all the instruments, and a penchant for longer tunes that don't ever really grow too tiresome or boring. Is there a bit of self-indulgence and excess? Perhaps, but nothing that terribly surpasses or even rivals many other technical death metal acts or shredders of the past, and it all comes together into a varied assault that largely sticks the landing.

The lyrics are nerdy, excellent excursions into science and science fictional concepts, which can transport the listener to the extra-terrestrial realms the band wants to inhabit, I wasn't paying attention enough to tell if this was a coherent story, but each of the tracks has so much going for it that it wouldn't be necessary. It must be pretty hard to memorize this stuff, so to pull it off in the studio without sounding too artificial is a feat unto itself, and the production is a great complement, crystal clear but honest and never too drowned out in effects or atmosphere that you can't get to the meat of the instrumentation. Terminal Redux does live up to its heights, but it lacked the surprise for me that Black Future achieved, and to a fractionally lesser extent its follow-up Outer Isolation. So this one remains in third place with me, but it certainly feels the most complex and progressive and I can totally understand why others might feel otherwise. Of course, Vektor would hit a wall after this one with the sketchy personal behavior, ensuing breakup and social media shitstorm, so it's a wonder if the band would ever be able to get even crazier than this...certainly the two tracks on the split with Cryptosis do not compare to this material, so we'll have to see if the writing is on the starship walls, or if they can outdo themselves once again with even more labyrinthine song structures.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

https://www.facebook.com/VektorOfficial

Blood Incantation - Starspawn (2016)

Starspawn is, for me, what really got this extradimensional party started. It wasn't my introduction to Blood Incantation, but the first material I actually purchased, that truly drew me on board the (deserved) hype train the band was riding. It's a natural successor to the EP, not necessarily eclipsing that in technicality, but clearly more ambitious and adventurous in structure, without escaping the gravitational pull of its more obvious influences, which could be drawn from an admixture of Floridian, Canadian and Finnish DM royalty. Again, not a ton of material here, just five tracks in 34 minutes, but at the same time, there's no fat to trim, no excess to the band's ideas that they can't pull off. They focus on making these five cohesive and memorable, and they succeed.

The production is a little denser than the previous release, and at the same time, it's more airy and atmospheric, especially on the melodies and leads like you'll hear pretty quickly in the depths of the 13 minute beast that opens this, "Vitrification of Blood (Part 1)". This tune covers the whole range of the band's fury from the start, whether it's the thundering blasts and writhing OSDM tremolo riffs, or the more proggy leaning grooves over which Paul Riedl's gutturals roar off into the cosmos with an appreciable reverb. The band yet again achieves that organic feel, murky but sincere, though I feel that the opening track definitely lends itself to more exploration as in the extended bridge with the chugging grooves and simple melodic lead licks ringing out, like a rocket transforming into a doomed space hulk in a slower orbit about some alien sun. The rest of the tracks are much more controlled at around 4-7 minutes, and get an equal amount of ground covered.

I definitely think Paul's voice is a bit more effective here, and there's a wider variety of riffs natural occurring since they've got twice the space to maneuver about in. The drums are tireless but never too insane, the band also got it's proper bass player here, also using a fretless, though I wouldn't say its leaps and bounds beyond the performance on the EP; the guitars and beats and growls just take center stage here, so it can get lost a bit behind their bulk, even though it's still audible most of the play length. There is an instrumental piece here which starts off more in the spacey dark ambient realm before turning into some clean guitars, it's a bit of a relief from the heavier material, but at the same time it sounds like it's a few separate ideas just being strewn together and it's easily the weakest cut of the five, and doesn't quite live up to its awesome title "Meticulous Soul Devourment". To some extent, it foreshadows their later ambient work, but it's not as interesting as that, just sort of an experiment that doesn't fully pan out.

Otherwise, Starpawn is awesome, and it's a record that does earn its place as one of the outbreak underground sensations of that 2010s time period. Is it quite the masterpiece that some might claim? Not exactly, if only because when broken down, the songs and riffs aren't always as sticky as I'd like, but as a sum experience it's very impressive and it's very natural feel holds up now as much as when I first listened through it. I could live without the instrument, but it's not the idea of the thing that lets me down, only that it needs a better flow, not only within itself, but with the tracks sandwiching it. Along with Interdimensional Extinction, this is pretty much the strongest era of the band thus far, but like I've said before, they don't have a ton of material out yet, I feel there is just so much yet to come and Blood Incantation won't be afraid to take some risks, some chances that might churn out even more impressive results.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10]

https://www.facebook.com/BloodIncantationOfficial/

Creeping Death - Sacrament of Death EP (2016)

Creeping Death is another of the younger US bands which has taken the scene by storm, punching far above their weight to some, well worth the time to others. They've certainly got a lot of ken when it comes to audience awareness, tailoring a lot of their music for the mosh-positive which inescapable amounts of breakdowns and grooves. To this effect, they are often described as a sort of hardcore/death metal hybrid, and I can agree with that to a degree, though I find a lot of that hardcore 'spirit' missing from the compositions...instead, this is pure OSDM with a few more breakdowns than you'd expect, perhaps more than are effective in a sheer listening context, but cognizant of how their concerts are going to go and wanting to leave some bruised knuckles in their wake, and who can really blame them? It's a meathead world out there. Give them flesh.

Having said that, I think Sacrament of Death was a promising start, one of their more truly death metal leaning efforts, which I would describe as a blend of old Death (Scream Bloody Gore, Leprosy) or Pestilence (Consuming Impulse), with a lot more fisticuffs to break up the searing tremolo rhythms and excellent, evil leads that contribute so well to its atmosphere. Just three tracks, and not even ten minutes long, and I could barely remember the difference between them, but they're a blast to listen through. Deep and churning rhythm guitars that sound good in either of the 'parent genres' they draw from, with lots of weight to the chug parts but also clear enough on the faster rhythms which often lead to a nice feel of impish mayhem. The mix of the drums and guitars actually reminds me once more of Consuming Impulse, maybe imagine that album had been written by a bunch of kids in New York around the same time and you've got a good approximation of this EP's tones, and as a sucker for that, I can't help but enjoy it. It's not that the riffing is particularly unique or exceedingly catchy, but for more primitive or simple grooves like old Obituary they can hold your attention.

Vocals are also quite good, again I'll reference Chuck Schuldiner or Martin van Drunen, but with more of a smackdown vibe to them that syncopates over the more tough guy rhythms below it. The lead guitars are really done with nice whipping tones, more of that 'unknown' vibe added for excess than trying to complete melodic or glorious cycles, and it fits right in with the knuckle-dragging groove that powers so much of the material. The mix is dark, thick and heavy and resembles the mosh pits that so obviously resulted from these songs. I also dug the cover art a lot, and usually do throughout the band's evolution...I'm not sure the ritualistic or vampiric imagery matches with the music, but on its own it is quite cool looking. Whether Creeping Death continues to live up to its own shitstorm of hype is yet to be determined, but Sacrament of Death was a solid introduction that holds up to this day.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

https://www.creepingdeath.net/

Asphyx - Incoming Death (2016)

Three albums in to Asphyx's reunion with Martin van Drunen, and I feel like you know what you're getting to get when you spin one of these things. Crushing, basic death metal, straight from the early 90s in craftmanship, but blessed with the advancements in production that can make it sound absolutely enormous by comparison to so many of those seminal works. The Dutch act has long maintained a very workmanlike build to its material, the riffs don't really sound very evil or atmospheric or even that catchy, but they bring the brawn rather than the brains, and for that reason they're always listenable, even if I couldn't pick many of these tracks out from a selection of those on the surrounding albums. Another band that, like a Bolt Thrower or Obituary, are quite content following the same path without ever distracting themselves with some attractive side-trails.

Incoming Death is almost as predictably named as it sounds, but if I'm being truthful, there is no amount of redundancy that can't be overcome by how Martin's gruesome grunts interact with the mix on these guitars. He sounds just as fleshy as they do, and he's always been one of the more distinct throats in the field, even though my preference will always be for his presence on the first two Pestilence albums, because the music there was absolutely fucking perfect to support him. Asphyx doesn't always seem like they take a long time to put the material together, just stringing together a standard supply of chords and letting the enormity of that guitar tone do the rest of the work. You do get a variety, from the grindier sway of tremolo picked riffs in "Candiru" and "It Came from the Skies" to the more measured, doomed gait of "The Grand Denial" or snail-like grooves of "Subterra Incognita", and that goes a long way to curb off any monotony, especially with the nice occasional lead or melodic guitar line for an added dimension to the atmosphere.

The mix here, from a little-known Swedish musician and producer named 'Dan', is exactly what the material needs to fatten out its simplicity, so that the tones can district from the lack of technicality or complexity in any of the riff patterns. The bass throbs with a thick distortion, allowing it to pop out occasionally from the tank-tread weight of the rhythm guitars, and the drums keep things pretty simple, but rock out just right against the crush. The songs can get a little boring if you're expecting any surprises, but they do happen once in awhile, like the piano finale to "Subterra Incognita", or that HUGE bass groove in the depths of "Death: The Only Immortal". Overall, Incoming Death is another win for the band, though it not all that much more memorable than the two albums before it, Death...the Brutal Way and Deathhammer; marginally better recording, but the tunes don't dazzle beyond the superficiality of their massive crunch.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

https://www.asphyx.nl/

Metal Church - XI (2016)

It might not be the prevailing opinion, but Metal Church is a band that never quite amounted to much for me beyond their first two albums, both of which I consider, if not masterpieces, then classic American heavy metal records which have withstood the ravages of time quite fine on their own. Since that point, though I've struggled with so much of their output...it's very often adequate, but just never blowing me away as I would have liked if that initial trajectory held true. The original Mike Howe run, while decent, never impressed me as much as his work with power/thrash outfit Heretic on Breaking Point, but he certainly had that similar attack to David Wayne with the inherent edge and anger to his performance; the songs just were not there for me. So having him return to the lineup some 20+ years later seemed like it couldn't hurt, because they hadn't exactly been knocking it out of the park in the interim, why not give it another go with their second most popular frontman? 

I was pretty satisfied from the first singles, because the reunion definitely works out in their favor. This is not the stuff of the eponymous debut or my favorite, The Dark, but it's hard enough hitting where it needs to be, and the band in general sounds more fired up than on the albums leading to it. The riffs are fairly creative, at least within the band's own canon, and they try to incorporate a bit of a modern groove or edge with some of the palm muting parts that keep it from sounding too forcibly nostalgic. Mike sounds just like he left off, in fact I think his performance here is superior Blessing in Disguise, with that harrowing decay to his sustain that feels angry and unique. Not exactly melodic and never as screamy as he might have been when he was younger, but that character to his style is in full effect, and he still to its day sounded like the most natural successor to Wayne. It just helps a lot that he's supported here by songs from Vanherhoof and company that leave a little visceral impact, that show some effort where a few of the albums between the two Howe eras were slightly lethargic or phoned in. There is an enthusiasm and virility here across all instruments that seems to concur with Mike's return.

The production is super clean here, and though it doesn't necessarily do the material any favors, and if anything creates a drier atmosphere, audio purists will really love the clarity of the bass, the acoustics, the beats and vocals and who can blame them. These tunes don't always end up with the catchiest of chorus parts, but at least they are striving for that, culminating with "Killing Your Time", "Sky Falls In" and the lumbering "It Waits" with the cool effects, shining if minimalistic synth lines, and searing chorus line. But really, there's nothing I feel compelled to skip when I'm revisiting this one, all the material holds at least some modicum of consistency and quality, and I remember at the time being happier with XI than I had been with any of their other albums since 1986. I STILL feel that way, though I've overall cooled on the material slightly since it's release. A good Metal Church record, and a worthy reunion, with some explosive potential for moving forward.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

https://metalchurchofficial.com/

Megadeth - Dystopia (2016)

I have at least two friends that consider Dystopia to be one of the best albums Megadeth has ever written, and while I can't go anywhere near that far, it certainly could be heard as heralding a second resurgence, a 'third wind' for the band after 2011's middling Th1rt3en and lamentable Super Collider from 2013. The band really gets back to some thrashing basics here, with a small bump in energy and inspiration from the adding of Angra's Kiko Loureiro to the lineup, a master who would bring both an elevated level to the lead guitars as well as the rhythm/songwriting, which he does contribute to this album. Despite the delicate, intricate touches of his alma mater though, make no mistake, this might just be the heaviest Megadeth record, armed with a lot of two-fisted, chugging thrash, intense session drumming from the beast Chris Adler, and Mustaine's desperate sociopolitical lyrics, which all certainly help the album live up to its name.

Sadly, this is the sort of modern thrash that often enters through one ear and immediately exits the other. Everything about it functions on a surface level, and the rhythmic, palm-muted bombardment has a few new tricks up its sleeve like in "Foreign Policy" or the quick lurching grooves of "Fatal Illusion", and they're all slathered in the sorts of seasoned leads that Mustaine and Loureiro can provide, with some breaks towards classic Megadeth speed (like the end of "Fatal Illusion" which recalled "Five Magics"). It's not even that the tunes are catchy in the moment, but perhaps it's just that the band had already created such an elaborate lexicon that few of these really stand about the shoulders of their elder siblings. The performances are off the chart, with Ellefson's bass lines giving the frightening guitar talents a run for their money, and Adler's power unquestionable as it drives the tunes harder than anyone has ever done before him. Mustaine's voice certainly feels its age, and he often sticks with a more mid-pitch grumble, but on a few tunes he'll flex that upper range and it still sounds melodic and effective, just with a bit more gravel to it.

The backing vocal arrangements are also quite nice here, like the counterpoints on "Death from Within" and the smooth descending harmonies on "Poisonous Shadows", a track that probably best exhibits Kiko's neo-classical input into its structure. But a few 'perk-up' moments aside, like the rhythmic groove in the bridge of "The Emperor", one of my fave tracks here, so much of the riffing just feels as if I've heard it all before, and it doesn't always congeal into songs that are going to stick around in the brain like they once did in the 80s. Dystopia is clearly a proficient, effective return to form after the miserable record that preceded it, and has enough going for it to fire up an entire next generation of Megadeth fans who hopefully would go back and check out the classic era, while also letting the old heads breathe sighs of relief that Dave still has his finger on the pulse of what makes his band so great, but it's rarely blowing me away like it could have with the teamwork of these four players.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

https://www.megadeth.com/

Ancient - Back to the Land of the Dead (2016)

Ancient is a band that started out respectably enough, then swerved into trendy, goofball territory when they took their vampire shtick a little too far, and since that time have been in a recovery phase as they more or less returned to their roots as pure Norwegian black metal. The horror themes they've incorporated were never quite the issue, in fact I laud having bands like this one or Morgul who center in on the creepy themes, in this case Vampire the Masquerade-like mythologies of the undead, but the issue I often get is that the writing itself doesn't always translate those aesthetics so well into sound. Sadly, Back to the Land of the Dead does suffer a little from sounding too basic for its genre.... lyrically, this could be about Vikings, Satan, or walks through nature and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference...the scary themes are almost entirely restricted to the lyrics themselves.

The main force behind this particular record is Nick Barker's drumming, which is an absolute powerhouse that almost drowns the rest of the album with its intensity. As Ancient have always drawn comparisons to Cradle of Filth, it's only fit that the British alumni winds up in the studio ranks, and as you will hear through the blasting and kicks is that the man still quite 'has it', but beyond that he even grafts in some nice beats and fills to the albums more atmospheric segues (as in "The Sempiternal Haze"), which is cool because they'd be exceedingly bland otherwise. Most of the actual riffing here is entirely too predictable, a bevy of chord-driven grooves you've heard from the Darkthrone or Mayhem school, or the bleeding, faster patterns which unfortunately just don't provide memorable riffs like you'd remember from Emperor or Dissection or any of that lot. In fact I think the sound here overall seems like a midway point between Marduk and Bathory, with some decent thrashing breaks like the intro to "The Ancient Disarray".

Vocals have a good, rasping decay on them and occasionally a little reverb on the right spot which sends them soaring above the nightmarish landscape the band is attempting to concoct. Alas, too few of the rhythms guitars sound appreciably evil; without the army of zombies on the cover art, the title, you wouldn't even guess at the lyrics, which are actually one of the strong points of the release. I'd also say that the production is one of their strongest, especially on the drums and the rhythm guitars as they are churning out some of their lower string riffs. It's a muscular, tireless record, but the regret is just that it doesn't have much interesting to speak, so much of the material plays out exactly as you think it will before the guitar phrase has even ended for the first time. If you want a beefy, traditional Norse BM catapulting through the backdrop of your life, then Back to the Land of the Dead is acceptable, and far better than some of their later 90s offerings, but ultimately doesn't stick its fangs out too far.

Verdict: Indifference [6.25/10]

https://ancient2.bandcamp.com/track/death-will-die

Heavenwood - The Tarot of the Bohemians (2016)

Heavenwood decided to go all out with its fifth album, and not only come up with an interesting tarot concept for the titling and lyrics, but also deliver what must be their heaviest and most dynamic album yet. Not to say that they're not still incorporating all of the Gothic and doom metal elements you've come to expect, it's not a far cry from 2011's Abyss Masterpiece, but this one actually beats up on the listener with a selection of really heavy guitars, riffs that draw upon a lot of groove metal or thrash in addition to the stable of influences they already had. You'll also notice that the drumming here is just massive compared to their older recordings, with lots more double bass hammering and just a lot more going on which accents the busier guitars.

Fear not, they'll still blaze off into some gorgeous, sorrow-stricken melody, and the vocals still have that mix of weighty growl and bark which juggle between the British death/doom influences and the more gritty Goth guy sound. But where you've got that, they'll use the ramped up intensity to thunder it right into your skull this time. There's also a little bit of a progressive metal swagger in spots, just in how they form some of the choppier guitar patterns, The Tarot of the Bohemians feels like its ready to take on everything, that the Portuguese band is keeping up with everything going on around it and up to the challenge of modernizing, not unlike how Greece's Nightfall evolved itself through the years. This is essentially like mid-ought's Paradise Lost if it were given steroids so you could listen to it at the gym, its tender and mournful moments boxed in on all sides with heaving, hawing beefcake guitars. You were never going to see a fight in a Heavenwood pit before this album...

Or maybe not even a 'pit' at all. But through that, they keep some of the exotic mystique that bled through their sound on Abyss Masterpiece or Redemption, and the album still seems distinctly rooted in their sound, but an ironclad version of that which is much more taxing to perform. Hell, in "The Emperor" they start slowly blasting to a tremolo picked death metal riff! And you'd think that they shouldn't even try to touch such an idea, but it fits in quite flush with the Gothic architecture of their overtures. I do think some audiences might find this a little much if they were expecting Swallow 2: The Stomaching, it does have a bit of the brickwall vibe of a lot of anything goes modern metal albums, but in the end it's a welcome and formidable progression by a band willing to explore further shores than those that lapped at the lake on the 1996 debut.

Verdict: Win [7.78/10]

https://www.facebook.com/HeavenwoodOfficial

Minneriket - Stjerner, speil og svartebøker... (2016)

Stjerner, speil og svartebøker... might not seem like such a far stretch from Vargtimen, as it still cultivates the noisy, cold black metal atmospheres of its predecessor, but it is at once more 'musical' and multi-dimensional, a slight warmth beginning to creep in at its corners, and production that is a stone's throw beyond where the project was already at. Even the cover art is a major improvement over the logo-only boredom of the debut, and if you felt like Minneriket wasn't structured enough before, I think Stein made a quick pivot to something more familiar to those seeking out a more traditional black metal, but don't think for a second that he abandoned his experimental ambitions.

Such are present with the second track here, "Vinterblot", which uses the drumming to create a cold, martial, marching beat that intersperses into the roiling, droning guitars and cruel rasp of its creator. The songs seem a lot more adventurous this time around, with elements that were not at the fore now arriving...for instance, the rumbling distorted bass in "Of Storms and Sorrows", which actually spits out some pretty catchy lines that are slathered with all these weird, broken beats, enigmatic industrial noises and such. "Jærtegn" is one of my favorites of these first two albums, it's got an unnerving sense of warmth and light to the floe of chords, and throws in everything from crackling storms, weird tones that sound like deep chimes or organs, and all manner of shimmering noisy guitars. Other cuts like "Totemkriger" take this atmospheric exploration and apply it into a more direct, blasting, warlike experience, and "How to Write Love in the Stars" (great title) adventures far further into pure ambient territory, which Stein really does excel at here...

So if you can't already tell, this effort is dramatically and artistically superior in just a year's time to where Minneriket had already been, and ample evidence that there might be some legs to stand upon, since there's really no limit to the sounds this guy is going to jackknife into your skull. The absolute-zero-temperature temperament of the debut was but a cold spark, where in this sophomore album the flames of imagination have bloomed, begun to consume the firewood and fill the hearth. Still creepy enough to freak you out, but then lays your head on a pillow and does its impression of a soothing before it starts stabbing you again. It's far from perfect, and who knows what the goal is with such an esoteric project, but it's clearly inspired.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

https://www.minneriket.com/

Soilwork - Death Resonance (2016)

Although I was particularly interested in Death Resonance for acquiring the material from the Beyond the Infinite EP, it turns out that this is the exact sort of bananas, fans-first sort of compilation that is well worth your time, crowded with bonus tracks and other material that you will probably want to get your hands on if you've been continuing to follow the Swedes through the 21st century. A whopping hour of content and 15 tracks that very well might be exclusive to you unless you're the sort of completist collector that has every rarity, every import on hand. In fact, Death Resonance kicks off with a pair of brand new original tracks which were laid down specifically for this release as an added bonus, so you know the guys wanted this to be something substantial.

Now, the caveat, while these new tunes, "Helsinki" and the titular "Death Resonance", show all the effort of recent studio recordings, I'll admit to not finding either of them that memorable. They're definitely worthy of the level of composition they were putting together for The Ride Majestic or The Living Infinite double-album, but they don't rattle around in my memory long after the dust clears. But there are plenty of other highlights present, like "The End Begins Below the Surface", a Japanese bonus track off the previous album, or the ENTIRETY of the aforementioned Beyond the Infinite EP, which in my estimation represents some of the stronger material from the whole Infinite era, in particular "My Nerves, Your Everyday Tool" and "Resisting the Current". The remainder of the material is a whole slew of Japanese bonus tracks from The Panic Broadcast, Sworn to a Great Divide and Stabbing the Drama, including a swank re-recording of "Sadistic Lullabye" off the debut album...

These can be hit or miss, and the production on cuts like "Overclocked" and "Martyr" isn't quite as strong as the first half of this compilation, which almost flows together like a new Soilwork album; but it's still nice to gather them all in once place, and nothing is really less than pleasant to listen through. I'd also like to say that some earlier bonus cuts might have also been nice, perhaps including the Early Chapters EP, but some of those are obviously represented on the de facto versions of the CDs that are available today. There might not be much of my favorite Soilwork material present here, but as a product Death Resonance delivers the kind of experience us jaded old heshers desire from longstanding bands, rather than some soulless collection of album cuts with a few live cuts or bonus tracks tacked on as an afterthought.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

https://www.soilwork.org/

Killing Addiction - Shores of Oblivion EP (2016)

The first time I heard the Shores of Oblivion EP I almost did a double take. I'd had few expectations based on the previous output, and yet was pleasantly surprised by how much tighter this material was than anything they had put out to date (including Omega Factor). The songwriting is catchier, the leads are good, the little details they put into the tracks are appreciated, and it barrels forward with a confidence not unlike its primary influences, which I've hinted at before carry some similarities not only to their Florida fellows, of which Brutality is certainly an apt comparison, but British mainstays like Bolt Thrower or Benediction, super evident in the first cut "Engine of Ruin" which is pretty much pure tank tread death metal, 'slow grind' with the great gutturals that crumble with a cool decay every time they are sustained for even a few seconds.

Take that bottom end and then glaze it with nice, creepy atmospheric guitar leads and you'd have what would be the best song in Killing Addiction's library, only the others here are just as good, like "Cult of Decay" with more good leads and a nice, loping groove that emerges deeper into the bridge, or "Into Shadow" which sets itself up with some nice, creepy cleaner guitars that ascend into electric melodies and some really nice, old school riffing circa 80s Death. Everything about this is just a step up, from the guitar work to the production, the rock steady drumming and most importantly, the ominous, dark but clean feel to the way the instruments are all mixed...certainly a bit more polished than the EP that had come two years before it that wasn't half this memorable. Shores of Oblivion is no reinvention of the wheel, and you could argue it's just quality, generic death metal, but it's also proof positive that persistence can really pay off, for however easy it might be write off some of their earlier material, this one is just 15 minutes of what you like in this genre...evil grooves, dark leads, well worthy of repeated listening.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

https://killingaddiction.bandcamp.com/music

Spell - For None and All (2016)

As fun as The Full Moon Sessions proved to be, there was a little sense of it being slapped together and lacking cohesion, something the Canadians Spell were quick to fix on the sophomore effort For None and All, which excels beyond its predecessor in just about every department. You've still got that sense of nostalgic 80s metal, almost like a collage of the obscure NWOBHM and Metal Blade acts from that decade, but this new album also has a bit more of an infusion of 70s hard rock and proto-metal due to some of the retro riffing, lead guitars and vocalizations. It all comes together quite wonderfully to be what I'd consider the trio's strongest work to date, obscenely catchy and just sounding tremendous coming through my car speakers. Yes, this is just another album I love to spin when I'm driving my sons around or just want a soundtrack for the wind through my beard (my old man proxy for having a head of hair), it's a highly mood-driven collection of tracks that sound just as good now as they did six years ago.

I suppose Cam's vocals are the place to start, he's got a very authentic, natural mocking tone to his voice that sounds impetuous but perfectly suited to the music, especially when it comes against the more epic contrast of something like the choir that erupts in "Whipping Sigils". The way he delivers his lines does remind me of fellow Canadians Cauldron, who also use a very down-to-earth, guy-next-door sort of vocal style, but the pitch is higher, more playful and leering. There are a few tunes in which it can feel a little monotonous, a wider range wouldn't hurt, but they're still beyond adequate. The guitars are extremely melodic, running through a rich set of patterns in each tune with one of the most wonderful guitar tones. I'm actually reminded a bit of the first two Def Leppard records with a few of those great rhythm guitars in the mix, and also by the constant crest of melodies and harmonies, but really this guy is using all sorts of effects to add in bluesy, funky or atmospheric layers as well. Graham McGee is great here.

 
The bass pops along audibly with lots of nice grooves or fills to round out the amazing guitar performance, and the drums sound very natural and authentic to the fusion of 70s and 80s metal influences. They also use some cool throwback synthesizer pad lines, choirs, or really whatever the moment needs to sculpt tracks that go straight into your memory, and I very often found myself wondering what decade I was in, although the music here is strong enough to conquer the 21st century. For None and All is magnificent...it might not maintain the same level ten tracks deep, but there are no stinkers in the bunch, and this should be a go-to to any true heavy metal fans heavy with nostalgia for hard rock and metal for such formative years, being thrust into the present with a style just as fun as your latest power metal or Euro arena metal obsession. Easily one of my faves of that entire retro inspired Canadian heavy metal scene!

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10]

https://spellofficial.bandcamp.com/

Denner/Shermann - Masters of Evil (2016)

It wasn't long after the Satan's Tomb EP that Denner/Shermann would drop their first (and only) full-length album, with a cover even MORE reminiscent of the Mercyful Fate classic sophomore. So the idea this projects is that maybe they'd be getting a little more archaic in sound to resurrect the legendary vibes we are still all feeling off that 1984 staple (which, let's face it...you shouldn't have the right to VOTE if you don't own a copy of Don't Break the Oath). And maybe the music pulls that off, but only about 1-3% more than the prior EP. Nope, this is still a hybridization of the guitar duo's heavy, distinct grooving metal guitars interspersed with the more uppity, energized style of power metal that came out of the US scene in the 80s, and the intensification of Judas Priest in 1990...

Which is nothing to scoff at, in fact it's a great fucking idea, and to their credit, the Masters of Evil pull it off for the majority of this 42 minute run-time. Though they might seem slightly less frenetic than a few on the EP, these tunes are better structured, and Sean Peck is even more reserved, in fact this is one of my favorite of his performances ever on a studio album. He's got the pitch, the fierceness, and yet he reins it in at any opportunity, never losing himself off the top. He's a great compliment to the riffing might being manifest below him, and yet when necessary, like in the bowels of "Son of Satan", or the chorus of the title track, he lets go this amazing Halford scream which had me laughing and weeping tears of joy in unison. In fact, the mix and some of the lines he projects remind me a lot of Rob, just with the different natural timbre to his voice. Snowy Shaw is once again great on the mix, though I don't think his beats stand out from the other instruments as much as the EP (a good thing). 

I also really enjoy the penchant for lurching into some "Carmina Burana" operatic moments, as if you'd just stepped into the heavy metal equivalent of The Omen, it just spices up what is otherwise a fun record with rolling riffs like "The Wolf Feeds at Night" or the title track. Not every riffing pattern is legendarily catchy, but there's clearly a ton of effort that went into this one, and the performances are set at just the right momentum to let the shrill vocals shine, which has always been one of Michael and Hank's fortes (the rest is history, right?) Masters of Evil is no Don't Break the Oath, but it's a damn good time which takes the DNA from that masterpiece and then combines it with some of the metal which followed it, like a Jurassic Park of heavy/power metal. A well written record that I haven't gotten tired of in a half-decade, but sadly another swan song from a project that was probably cut down too soon. I mean, if they took this material and then cultivated it even further, who knows what limit they might have crossed. But I'm happy to take what we've gotten.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10]

https://dennershermann.com/

Powerwolf - The Metal Mass - Live (2016)

Powerwolf has so many deluxe double disc releases of their albums that this probably wasn't their first rodeo with a proper 'live' effort; I know they had one that came with a Metal Hammer magazine, but at least for me, this was my first experience hearing these loveable Saarland spook-metallers on a full live recording, and I expected they'd give it as much effort as they seem to do anything else. This was right around the time I had started to lose a little interest in their studio material, not because I thought any of it was bad, just that I thought they were feeling a little redundant with both the writing, the cover art choices, etc. That ghost ship would eventually right itself, as I've enjoyed The Sacrament of Sin more than Blessed & Possessed, but at least hearing it live would possess some novelty.

Spoiler: it does, but at the same time, the band has an insanely professional sound here which is not a far cry from how they sound in the studio. Attila's voice soars here with all its Romanian bombast, the guy is no joke...he's not the highest pitched or most versatile, but he's got a burly tone that just takes command of the audience and he doesn't really fuck up, hardly, at all. Some might consider that a bit of a weakness, since they want to hear the more 'real' attack on stage, but in a European scene whose power and Gothic metal bands are so honed in on polish and presentation, what I'm hearing from these Germans has to place them right at the top of the pile. The guitars and organs sound awesome, the drums have a nice slap to them which sounds especially good when they're doing the marching beats alongside the operatic arrangements, and I've rarely heard such a smooth mix of the audience cheering...it almost sounds too good to be true. Doesn't hurt that it's also being recorded on their home turf, so you can hear Dorn speaking to them in German between tunes and even that sounds just about perfect!

The set list is definitely where it misses out a little, almost entirely ignoring my favorite album Lupus Dei other than the title track...but no "In Blood We Trust", "When the Moon Shines Red", "Mother Mary is a Bird of Prey" or "We Take it from the Living", tunes I'd figure would be staples. I don't think the debut makes it on here at all, but Bible of the Beast through Blessed & Possessed are all covered well enough if you dig those, and they do such a flawless job representing that stuff that it's hard to hold a grudge...they were probably just tired of the earlier material, and much of the band's popularity picked up in the 2010s as they had built a solid live presence for tours and festivals. This is quite a good live effort, and Powerwolf has proven that they do not screw around, whether it be their studio output, cover songs album, live performances, or even the more recent symphonic version of The Sacrament of Sin. They believe in themselves, and spare no expense or effort to succeed, and as silly as they can seem with their ghoulish stage makeup, they demand respect and they've got mine. I still haven't tried out their board game though, Armata Strigoi...that will be the ultimate test...

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

https://www.powerwolf.net/

Rage - The Devil Strikes Again (2016)

Although the advance track "My Way" hardly struck gold with me, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that The Devil Strikes Again is just a down to earth, honest heavy metal album, going for a certain level of grit and aggression which not have been novel in the band's already lengthy history, but is performed with an amount of 'no fucks given' here that I rather admired. I think this is one of the better Rage albums in terms of how it balances Peavy's more restrained mid-range vocals with the meaty, heavier music. There are still plenty of Euro-anthem based progressions throughout a number of the tunes, but they all feel really grounded and never biting off too much more than they could chew, which might have been an issue if you weren't into Smolski's high flying theatrics on some of his later albums within the fold.

Marco and Lucky ably prove themselves here, the former with his capable riff set and great leads, the latter with an even more driving performance than what I expected from the My Way EP. Most of the tracks have a formidable balance of power and catchiness, and cuts like "Back on Track", "The Final Curtain" or "Ocean Full of Tears" recall the 90s Rage which is a favorite for many in their audience, while dipping some tendrils even further in the past. For example, I can even hear a few direct traces of the 80s material so beloved to me on Perfect Man or Secrets in a Weird World. Granted, Peavy's almost gone monotonous with his delivery...but for the same reason I love Lemmy, a super-limited front man, I've grown to appreciate the level of passion this guy puts into each line, even when he can't give me the age-old shrieking I crave from his yesteryears. The choruses are still well-built, and he layers into the backing vocals perfectly. I also love the little flashes of the speedy old Rage in "Spirits of the Night", and they even throw out a few tunes that take me completely by surprise like "The Dark Side of the Sun", with that amazing opening riff section which almost felt like Golden Age Artillery...thundering, melodic semi technical power/thrash metal!

More of that, please. Granted, the album is nowhere near as heavy as it looks...the skull and maggots crawling about on the cover? The title? Nah, but much more than the last 5-6 albums before it, The Devil Strikes Again sounds like a band reining itself in to create a consistent experience that marries the thrash, speed and power metal influences that defined their earlier eras. The only piece here that I feel I can skip over is "My Way", and that's hardly a terrible track, it just doesn't have those great hooks waiting for me around the corner like its neighbors. Once more we've got a German power trio which can live up to its name, and if this is only the first foray for these three...what'll the future hold?

Verdict: Win [8/10]

http://www.rage-official.com/

Rage - My Way EP (2016)

The My Way Ep was released early in 2016 as both an advanced single for The Devil Strikes Again, and a presumed 'warmup' for Peavy's new power trio lineup with newcomers Marco Rodriguez and Vassilios Maniatopoulos. In a way it could be seen as a rebuilding of the band, not that Wagner has ever had much trouble choosing the right replacements for his roster but it can't always be easy to find that cohesion. This is one area in which I can say that the material here is a success, because the three play together seamlessly, so that it doesn't feel as if a beat had even been skipped. In particular I liked Marco's lead guitars, he's obviously not as maniacally gifted as Victor Smolki but he's got some chops and he executes his solos well so that they're often the most standout parts of the songs he's performing on. Drummer 'Lucky' is also pretty damn solid, maybe a bit more organic sounding with his rhythmic hammering than his last few predecessors.

So the lineup works, but the material on this EP leaves a lot to be desired. "My Way" is quite bland for a single, sounding a lot like the band's 90s material circa Black in Mind, but just not that memorable in terms of riff choices or chorus vocals. The first heavy guitar rhythm in the pre-verse sounds a lot like a sped up "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and I found that distracted, and while it seems like it's really going to pick up with the little acoustic segues and the more melodic chords it just doesn't ever hit a climactic point like so many of their earlier songs used to. This is also available in Spanish on the butt end of the EP, "Apuesto a Ganar", which isn't that unusual since Rage often includes non-English tracks on a lot of their short releases and bonus material, they've always cultivated a pretty international appeal. This might even sound better with the Spanish lyrics but it's just not enough to save the song from being rather average.

Rounding out the release, of course we've got to have some re-recordings of classic tracks with the new lineup. Both of these are from 1995's Black in Mind, which does make some sense since that's the sound they'd really be shooting for on The Devil Strikes Again. Neither of them really excels past the original incarnation. Perhaps they have a little more force behind them, which is easy to do when you've got the old version to compete with, but as more than a curiosity as to how the new lineup will sound in the live setting (competent, for sure), they don't have any value for me. I am well versed in the titular "Black in Mind" but "Sent by the Devil" was one I'd forgotten about, although it's not a bad tune either. For overall value this one just doesn't offer much, you can get "My Way" on the ensuing album, and unless you REALLY want to experience those re-recordings in a studio with this particular lineup, they don't offer anything too exciting beyond the knowledge that, hey, these new guys can play those old songs. It just doesn't inspire a lot of confidence in me when the actual NEW track is so average.

Verdict: Fail [4/10]

http://www.rage-official.com/