Doldrum - The Knocking, or the Story of the Sound That Preceded Their Disappearance (2022)

The Knocking... is one of their rare, anomalous records that comes around and completely eradicates you, and then has you begging the question: why it wasn't more popular? Even a couple years later, I am baffled that this one hasn't stuck with more listeners. Perhaps it's just too obscure, wasn't advertised much, released in a limited batch of vinyl or cassettes, no CD (to my dismay). The alternative would be to believe that folks weren't interested in a brilliantly horror themed progressive black metal opus which rewards through repeated listens, and that is a thought I am just not willing to bear. A few members of this project were also in the band Gallows, which put out an awesome record in 66 Black Wings, with a more traditional, straightforward black metal style, but Doldrum is far more ambitious and interesting.

I'd describe this as sounding like a mix of late 90s/early 00s Opeth and modern, progressive Enslaved aesthetics, but it doesn't sound quite the same as either. I was also reminded of Spain's Foscor for some reason; I daresay, even a little modern Chewy-era Voivod finds its way in, or Norway's Virus. It's got well-defined rhythms that make full use of the percussion and bass, both of which are brilliantly executed through the album, and then covers those up with dissonant, creepy guitar chords and an excellent, rasped vocal to deliver a chilling and memorable experience that never gets tiring even after the 50th spin or so. The lyrics are poetic, sad and incredible, spinning a tale of 1800s American folk horror that feels refreshing and unique amidst all the usual haunted houses, zombies and vampires. It's all told in five tracks ranging from 5-9 minutes, totally under 40 minutes, never wearing out its welcome and incorporating quite a lot of range within that timespan. The Knocking... is bristling with riffs to die for, textured and immersive and fully supported by the rhythm instruments which are every measure as important. The keys and acoustics are also tasteful and non-intrusive to the central, pulsing black metal aesthetics.

I think this might have even been recorded in Salem, MA at the Gallows Hill studios, which gives me a bit of a personal connection as I met my wife there and used to live with her a few years, well before this thing came out but I always marvel at the music that comes out of the place. Largely through Kurt Ballou's God City studios, yes, but it's cool to know there are other venues. But if I'm being honest, this might be my favorite metal or 'heavy' album ever recorded in that city, it's stunning. This shit slays, and though I loved it the year it came out (and I'm still pining for a CD release!), it's grown on me even more in the interim...the towering riffs, corpulent bass lines, grooving drums, excellent vocals, all of which can surge in and out of a more traditional black metal rhythm whenever necessary, but more often errs on the side of the adventurous. I might tell you that I'd be sad if this proved to be a one-off, but at the same time, it'll be just as timeless even if the project disappears like its unfortunate subjects.

Happy Halloween!

Verdict: Epic Win [9.25/10]

https://doldrumbm.bandcamp.com/

Blood Incantation - Luminescent Bridge EP (2023)

Rather than making some major career choice and consigning one of their two styles to oblivion or a side project, Blood Incantation instead move forward with both their death metal and cosmic ambient halves on this latest single. As someone who enjoyed both of these creative entities, I can't say that I'm terribly disappointed, but I'm not sure how long this sort of split personality can be maintained without the band needing to spin off of them off. Or perhaps it never will be. On the downside, I don't feel that, for this particular release, both halves are created equally. Competent, for sure, but while the band expends a lot of effort to return to the death metal that put it on the map, and succeeds there, I don't feel like the opposite is the case...

"Obliquity of the Ecliptic" is quite good, at least on the level of the first two tracks off Hidden History, with some dark grooves to it and no shying away from the blasted mayhem, with just a few hints of proggier structures poking through. This track itself does have an ambient segue, and a nice one with the drums rolling around, an organic and glittering vibe to it when the soft synth pads do arrive. Eventually, it explodes into a more glorious, melodic second half and you really do feel through the almost 9 minutes that you've gone on some adventure. As for "Luminescent Bridge", it's got some nice clean guitar tones and spacious ambient textures, as well as a lead guitar that breaks out deep in its bridge (if ambient tracks can really have a 'bridge'), but it's just not as immersive for me as Timewave Zero was, though I dug the horn sounds at the end. It might even feel like it was thrown together because they didn't have two death metal tracks ready...I've mentioned it before, but considering the band's huge underground status they haven't put out a ton of tunes, they tend to take their time.

Nothing wrong with that, but I just can't envision myself revisiting this piece very often, and thus would probably prefer of "Obliquity" was just on another EP or full-length album. Is that track good enough after four years since Hidden History? I'd say it's adequate, if not exemplary. As a brief, 20 minute single or EP though, this is barely enough to tide the audience over as they anticipate whatever comes next or what style it might invoke. It's hard not to think, with all their exposure, and then the total turn towards the ambient for the 2022 record, that whatever comes next for Blood Incantation could be their 'ride or die', their 'make or break' to the fanbase and their expanding audience. No reason to believe they can't rise to the challenge, but I don't think we'll need any more little morsels like this while we wait to find out.

Verdict: Indifference [6.25/10]

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

Blood Incantation -Timewave Zero (2022)

Timewave Zero was met with an understandably divisive reaction as it went on to more fully explore Blood Incantation's ambient influences, which to this point had only been manifest in parts of a few instrumentals or interludes on their albums. To an extent, I can sympathize with the naysayers...the logo is the same, and it's such a massive shift that it might as well be another band entirely, but it's not as if this was the first time in history some extreme metal acts took 180 turns. Hell, look at Beherit or Burzum, or many others who embarked on ambient or electronic or dungeon synth paths away from the blasting and growling. I'm all for bands evolving, in fact some of my favorites like Enslaved or Voivod have made careers of it, but this could certainly be seen as a bridge too far...

Fortunately, Timewave Zero is quite good. 2-3 epic length ambient tracks, (depending on which version you've acquired), moody and mesmerizing, and at the very least, featuring contributions from all the death metal band members. So even though this might come off as a vanity project that extends the earlier hints of this style, it's all hands on deck as they surf further along the radiance of quasars and emptiness of the vacuum between worlds. The textures are obvious but also subtle, with a couple different synth-lines layered together, some repetitious and others more celestial and spacious, but it's mostly quite smoothed-over, you don't get into the abrasive droning or noisy sounds that a lot of darker ambient projects explore, at least not in "Io" or "Ea". As most you feel the atmosphere of alien worlds through a few sweltering crescendos of what might feel like colossal elder beings stretching their galaxy-wide limb, or really a cinematic feel that will trigger nostalgia for old sci fi films in which the synthesizer-based composers really earned their scratch.

There's also a little touch of acoustic guitar deep into the experience which is a nice bridge back to the familiar, and this is perhaps my favorite part, when the little synths play off against this. If you've got the version with "Chronophagia", this is a much darker, improvised and longer tune where a lot of those more droning aspects come into effect, with some moody synth lines out in the astral murk that really impress as another of the highlight. My CD copy does not have this track and it kind of pisses me off, I didn't do my research but I HIGHLY recommend you get that version with the CD + Blu Ray or the multiple records, because it definitely adds a lot of value to the release and then it really becomes more of a full-length than an EP as the band states.

Now, admittedly I don't have a ton of knowledge when it comes to this genre...I do have hundreds of ambient, dark ambient, New Age, dungeon synth, space synth and other releases digitally, and also a bunch in physical form. I love the stuff. I dig my Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Jean-Michael Jarre, Fenriz' Neptune Towers, and many more, but I don't know that I can precisely pinpoint the influences that Riedl and company most lean on for this. But it's clearly fluent in that spacey style, immersive and just as easy to get lost in as any of their death metal material, though I think this is obviously a lot simpler and probably easier to put together. I think it would work better as a spin-off, or perhaps integrated into their heavier side, but ultimately what matters is the quality of what's on the disc, and this is enjoyable if not revolutionary for its style.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

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

Blood Incantation - Hidden History of the Human Race (2019)

If Starspawn was a record that exploded its own audience through a shitstorm of positive critical response and massive scene hype, Hidden History of the Human Race was the record that had to LIVE UP to all of that; and I can remember the high anticipation levels, palpable, like heaving and sweating Shoggoth's as this thing was first introduced. The full-length sophomore was in no way a disappointment, not to say that I think it's quite as good as the album before it, but again, like that from the EP before it, the band seems to have taken some baby steps in evolution. I was also pretty surprised to see the familiar cover artwork, not only from the Canadian Agony album from the 90s, but at the UMass sci fi library we had a copy of the Brian Aldiss sci-fi book it was first used on, and I guess it remains as intriguing here as then, if not quite so novel (har har).

I felt like this album, at only four tracks, really unleashes with a lot more death metal and less of the experimentation I might have expected. Loads of Morbid Angel, Nile, Cannibal Corpse vibes coming off "Slave Species of the Gods" and "The Giza Power Plant", where I would have thought they'd get stranger and spacier from the artwork and the lyrics which embrace the extraterrestrial themes and Chariot of the Gods stuff. It's not until "Inner Paths (To Outer Space)" that I get what I was honestly looking forward to, a piece that evolves from ambient adventurism to a proggy and forward-thinking style reminiscent of Cynic, Atheist and mid-era Pestilence. This is a much better instrumental than the one on the album before it, and sets you up for the 18 minute epic closer which is by far the most dizzying and impressive piece on the album, every bit the measure of the two previous releases. In fact I'll say that the latter half of this album is more compelling in general than the former, and even the flighty, crazy death metal riffing has more going for it as it fragments off into more unpredictable directions.

That's not to say the first two cuts are throwaways by any means, they're quality death metal, but the otherworldy/intellectual side of the band just isn't as present there. Fortunately, the rest does compensate for this, and I can only imagine if we were to get a full-length with 2-3 tracks that are as frenzied and bonkers as "Awakening from the Dream of Existence to the Multidimensional Nature of Our Reality (Mirror of the Soul)", the title of which is obviously a little throwback to how Demilich used to label their tunes with the ridiculous word-count. Musically, those Finns are also a reference in this one, but where they focused more on the grooves, this takes that style and thrusts it into hypserspace oblivion, so that when they DO break out into something slower and more roiling, you really feel it. They also spin it off into another ambient section, so the writing is really on the wall for where the band might head next. I just didn't expect how FAR. As it stands, Hidden History is another success for the Coloradans, but I feel it frontloads its less interesting (but still solid) material and is lacking just a little as a result.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

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

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/

Blood Incantation - Interdimensional Extinction EP (2015)

Blood Incantation is one of the foremost entities to reap the death metal whirlwind of the last decade, expanding upon the cosmic sound of groups like Morbid Angel, Gorguts and the unknown Timeghoul through intelligent songwriting and really honing down their material to what counts. Hell, not including their ambient distractions and a handful of the demo tunes, they've only got about 14 metal tracks from this Interdimensional Extinction EP all the way to the present on the major releases, but they've made a huge splash regardless, landing themselves onto big tours, topping a myriad of years' end lists from various bloggers and publications, and already establishing some genuine staying power within the genre, assuming they stick with it (more on that later).

I didn't quite clamp on to Interdimensional Extinction at first, it was Starspawn that really drew me into the band's sound, but in retrospect, as I revisit this, I think it might be their best-produced of the extreme material, a compelling burst of slightly technical, progressive death metal which calls on anything from their Floridian forebears to hints of the old Finnish scene. The songwriting is varied, from faster melodic sequences to flailing leads and a few concentrated, mid-paced elements which might even channel a little epic death/doom ("Hovering Lifeless"). There's a little Moog playing here too which definitely exerts the nerdier prog inspirations, and its presence helps place this album into the sphere of related works like Spheres by Pestilence with all its synth-guitars, even though it's nowhere near as out there and not quite so original. This is more playing around in a swirling, pure death metal context and just putting out some feelers into the unknown, like a rocket hurtling to an eldritch universe and making first contact with the spawn of the Old Ones existing there.

What's most impressive to me about Blood Incantation is how they create such an otherworldly sound while remaining so organic. Listening through their first few releases, I always get the impression they can pull this off quite closely in the rehearsal space or on the stage, there's an honesty, where a lot of spacier bands will pull out every studio trick possible or wank off their technical wizardry. The Coloradan trio does none of that here, it's pure raw talent, and warmer tones, with a genuine pump to the rhythm guitars, clear and blazing leads that don't attempt to polish themselves off too much, maintaining just a trace of the unhinged. The drums are very good and there's also a fretless session bassist, the latter reminding me of Tony Choi when he was doing Pestilence of Cynic although I'll admit I can't quite tell the difference with the frets or not in some cases. But in this mix, everything shines, there's nothing repressed and its easy to hear how they've cultivated so much respect.

Interdimensional Extinction is easily one of the better 'introduction' EPs in death metal this last decade, and going back to it I think it might even be one of my favorite releases from the band, if not the singular favorite, though it's not as corpulent or escapist as Starspawn. It's just the right blend of grounded and weird, with a lot of haunting details like the vocal clamor at the end of "Subterranean Aeon", or the creepy clean guitars that herald "Hovering Lifeless" while the snappy, jazzy drums attack right into the blasting, ensuing mayhem. Absolutely worth picking up now as the EP is much more readily available than when the band first broke out.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10]

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

Bog Wizard vs. Dust Lord - Four Tales of the Strange (2021)

I've already covered the 2020 album From the Mire by Michigan's bong soaked Bog Wizard, a rather adventurous hybrid of acid washed stoner doom metal and fantasy gaming nostalgia. They've returned here on a fitting split EP with Colorado's Dust Lord, another newish act which has also independently released its debut last year. Sonically, the two bands are a fine pair, although there are some slight deviations in their thematic and atmospheric approaches which distinguish them. Ugly, huge doom metal tones, taking the Sabbath roots and drenching them in sustained distortion and vocals that occasionally make Ozzy sound like a harmless puppy. That's not to say we're dealing with songwriting on a master level like those British originators, but I think folks who are really into this saturated, evil stoner crush have two hopefuls here that, with a little tweaking, could become contenders to the thrones occupied by acts like Electric Wizard and Bongripper.

Dust Lord has the bolder production of the two, with voluminous guitars that groove along your nerves with note progressions that might not be original, but do their job. I'd say aesthetically this is the drier of the bands, going more for an in the in-the-face, traditional fare. Take a group like Fu Manchu and dial down the party and up the crunch levels. Interestingly, the first half of their first track, "Not Men, Not Women, Not Beasts" is a slow, loping desert-camouflaged sasquatch that then picks up with a slightly more uptempo stoner/metal with some harmonies, that introduces us to the pissed off vocals...I found this a bit more entertaining than what led into it, so perhaps that first half went on a bit long, and this is a crime also committed by "Career Opportunities", a lower drudge that also improves once the vocals and higher guitars arrive...just check out that fuzzy, mid-90s Cathedral-like break around the 6-minute mark when he starts spitting out the venom, that's what I kind of wanted the whole time.

Bog Wizard fares a bit better with me, I just love their gradual atmospheric builds, created by clean guitars and feedback before the molasses-thick marsh guitars start to ooze along into the track. I think the vocals on this sound even better than the full-length album, eerie post-Osbourne lines dispersed with some growlier vocals. The little drum fills are quite nice, giving the muck-tinged, steady rhythm guitar a little more of a 'march' feel. The stuff is still heavily rooted in fantasy, with tracks called "Paladin of Death" and "Gelatinous Cube"...now, obviously, there's a BIT of a bias with me on that last one. The G. Cube is my favorite D&D monster...I own the limited edition Funko Pop!...it's presence in Pixar's Onward is one of the many reasons that was one of my top movie picks of 2020. I'm not even a big fan of gelatin or Jell-O or Bill Cosby or anything, but I just love that corridor-cleaning atrocity and its slow, measured, flesh-absorbing menace. This tune is super interesting...from the chuggy rhythms that set it up, to that break in the middle with the ominous clean guitars that almost sound like drawn out, melancholic surf rock, the tinny little cadenced beats, and then the fucking FUZZ ERUPTION. This is actually music that a Gelatinous Cube could get down with, and I have to respect it for that...

All in all, Four Tales of the Strange is a decent if slightly lopsided effort. Dust Lord has the goods, but hammers them over your head after too long of a setup, whereas Bog Wizard is more interestingly composed in its hypnotic, subterranean aesthetic, meandering but only in a good way. My wife and sons don't like me doing drugs, but I can settle for this, doping up vicariously through the doom.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

https://www.facebook.com/BogWizardBand/

Axeslasher - Anthology of Terror, Vol. 1 (2013)

My love for 80s schlock cinema, horror, gore and being eternally locked within the mindset of a 13-year-old pretty much ensure that something like Axeslasher is going to catch my attention, and I mean that in the best possible way. While I don't always get a lot of the results I'd like from throwback-looking bands whose members are also obsessed with similar cult horror and exploitation kitsch, I have to applaud the efforts to revive the cheesy sentiments of that era. With their thrash terrorist ski masks, great sci-fi drive in cover art and track titles like "Mark of the Pizzagram" and "Invasion of the Babesnatchers", this was either going to be entirely awesome or another retro-clone pizza-thrash piece of trash that fails to elevate itself from its puddle of audio-genetic influences.

Anthology of Terror is somewhere between these two extremes, an EP that rounds up some of the Colorado group's previous singles into a nearly 20 minute exhibition of slightly party-tinged death thrash that by no means feels cheap or played out, even if its not super impressive. You can certainly hear some of those primitive 80s West Coast thrash influences, like Exodus-paced jerking rhythm guitars, but I'm also reminded a lot of death/thrash outfits like Ghoul, Exhumed, Cardiac Arrest, Frightmare and their like due to the mix of snarled and growled vocals and the way they can occasionally weave in some melodic intensity and frenzied leads. The rhythm guitars have a firm, abrasive tone to them which is very mosh-ready while providing a seat for the sicker, often sustained vocals. The rhythm section is adequate for the task, with a lot of fills being thrown around everywhere, especially the double kick variety, and that certainly gives Anthology a bit of modernity rather than feeling like a pure 80s retro idolization.

The downside here is that for all the considerable energy and propulsion Axeslasher metes out across these five tracks and intro, very few of the riffs are actually that catchy, and the songs don't burrow themselves into your head as much as the band's image, moniker and artwork might. Lyrically they have some fun topics like aliens conquering humanity and feeding them to their pets, supernatural serial killers, and witch-hunting, and the band is musically competent without any doubt, but I just didn't find the note choices or vocal lines here really resonating with me beyond a fleeting initial fun factor. I do like the style they go for, and a number of established acts with comparable sounds, so being that this material is already six years old or more, I wouldn't be surprised if they land some full-length record with a lot of improved songwriting chops some time soon. But this isn't quite there yet.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

http://www.axeslasher.com/

Jag Panzer - The Deviant Chord (2017)

If you remove the classic, excellent Ample Destruction and its sad successor, the miserable Dissident Alliance from the equation, Jag Panzer must have the longest streak of 'good but not great' albums in my entire collection of heavy/power metal. Always something to look forward to, even if you can't expect genius or timelessness, a bastion of consummate USPM professionalism for twenty whole years since they cleaned up their act and dropped The Fourth Judgement through Century Media. The Deviant Chord is just another example...a record with a great title, very cool cover art, and performances so reliable and polished that they seem like we're at the point they could crank them out like treadmill exercises while watching the morning news and drinking freshly squeezed juice.

On every technical level, The Deviant Chord is a success. Between Conklin's nuanced, Dickinson influenced wailing and howling, to Tafolla's controlled shredding, to a rhythm section anyone would be happy to have at their backs. Soaring, anthemic power metal which is busy and majestic enough to capture the European audience, with huge chorus sequences, backing harmonies, and a nice mixture of rhythmic variation between hard-hitting mutes, triplets, open atmospheric chords, and other standard but seasoned techniques to permit these songs to feel distinct from one another, even if they're all barking up the same tree. The Tyrant's sustained howls still sound comparable to a couple decades ago, with perhaps a small measure of understandable strain, but even at his mid range he knows how to let that voice get a wingspan over the workmanlike hustle and bustle beneath. When the band needs to slow it down, and get a little meaner, they do so, as with the title track. When they want a chance to flex their 'sensitive side', they do so, also in the intro to the title track, or during their metallic transformation of the traditional English folk song "Foggy Dew", which is seamless.

But if this album lacks anything, it's just having killer cuts that are going to ricochet back and forth through your subconscious until you can satisfy a craving by listening again. The Deviant Chord is a pleasure to experience while in the act, and proof positive that the Panzer hasn't skipped a beat despite its six-year hiatus since The Scourge of the Light (itself coming after a seven year period), but it doesn't really stick around for long after the listening. They simply haven't stumbled upon the level of hooks that their genre gods like Maiden, Priest or even Helloween have, but there's no way you can write that off as any 'lack of trying'...this is some carefully constructed, dramatic, graceful, melodic, occasionally fist raising metal by a bunch of elder statesmen whose proficiency levels simply exceed the songsmithing by a small order of magnitude. But you know what? It's enough. I'll listen to it again, and I'll listen to their next one, because Jag Panzer doesn't fuck around, and doesn't waste your time, and if you enjoyed records like The Scourge of the Light or Thane to the Throne then I'd be shocked if you didn't also get something out of this one too.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10] (each note rings out a glimpse of truth)

http://www.jagpanzer.com/

Crypticus - The Barrens (2013)

I've yet to be displeased with anything Patrick Bruss has released under the Crypticus brand, and The Barrens has not proven an exception to that fact. It doesn't quite hit me as directly in both the gut and funny bone as the sophomore They Called Me Mad!, but I think this is easily the most matured material he has put together, channeling old Swedish and Floridian influences into a broader palette of riffing progressions and idyllic horror atmospheres than your garden variety Dismember wanna-be. The album looks great, with that Lovecraftian, cartoon-like figure interposed against what looks to be an undead sun, and really the whole thing breathes...or rather 'reeks' of enthusiasm for the campy and classic horror tales to which Bruss is paying homage, while sort of transcribing them into his own mythology of monsters, black magic and mad scientists. Hell, I even read "Late Night Horror Queen" as a ravenous tribute to Maila Nurmi (Vampira) or Cassandra Peterson (Elvira), which is kind of fucking awesome.

Rhythm guitars definitely swerve slightly into Swedish territory, which is nothing new here, but the difference is how he constructs the riffs themselves, which take on an often more thrashy aesthetic more directly reminiscent of a median between Slayer and Carcass. Pair this up with Patrick's gruesome gutturals, which often sound like a rent in the time continuum from which some vast, otherworldly eyeball is staring forth, and then sprinkle loads of simple but effective melodies, both airy and tremolo-picked above the death/thrashing vortex below and you've come up with a fairly close approximation to how this album sounds. Like esteemed labelmates Ghoul, the 'fun factor' doesn't really ever leave the picture...but that's not to say he isn't spitting out some serious lyrics or writing music that favorable evokes death metal's underpinnings of terror and helplessness, he is just more apt to conjure up mental visions of Hammer Horror flicks, or black/white classics, rather than the edgy and uncomfortable torture porn which serves as much of modern horror. And I like that, that sort of passionate but lighthearted spin on the medium which Razorback has long exemplified, because when you're staring too long into the abyss, it's good to break for a beer and a laugh.

The Barrens seems a little more morose a title than the album sounds, but it's still plenty dark, a midnight matinee delivered with loads of themes and samples. The strength of the music does vary, with the occasional outbreak of some boring d-beat driven riff or a chord sequence that doesn't really go anywhere, but even within the limited subset of styles in which Crypticus experiments, he does manage to achieve some degree of variation, and though the music is never 'complex', he does seem to invest a lot of shifting time signatures and structures into even the shorter pieces. I will say that I did not always love the drum tone on this one, it feels a little too loud and mechanical, in particular the lower end of the kit, which sort of contrasts against the more atmospheric combinations of the grinding rhythm guitar, ugly growls, and lead harmonies and melodies. But when this record totally comes together, like the beginning of "Ceremonial Surgery" or the old Entombed-like groove that opens up "Misanthropy Mine", I am reminded of why this is an act that will still take me some time to grow tired of. Not his best album, but definitely consistent.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

https://www.facebook.com/crypticus

Expurgate - Dementia Tremens (2013)

The 'Mile-High City' might be the last place one might expect to find such a gurgling, lowdown pile of intestines as Expurgate's full-length debut Dementia Tremens, and yet here they are, taking a dump all over the snowy peaks and flats of their territory with an album of misogynistic, meat headed slam breakdowns and flights of faster, old school brutality. Let's get one fact out of the way first: there is not a single individualistic or unique characteristic to this album which the avid death metal listener won't have heard hundreds of times over the past decade. Between the thuggish palm muted moshing components and eruptions of tremolo picked guitars, everything does seem as if its been paraphrased from the band's influences, from Suffocation to Lividity to Devourment, but despite this shortcoming the Coloradans have put together a taut and compact 23 debut which purists for this form won't find much to scoff at, even if it isn't exactly pushing the envelope off the nearest cliff.

These are not songs concerned with leaving a lasting impact on your memory so much as an immediate impact on your chin, tummy, scrotum, or wherever you like to take your blows. The guitars follow a very percussive pattern which essentially doubles up the drums for a one two bludgeoning combination, and the low end tendency of the notation will churn your stomach even after a spoonful of Pepto Bismol. There is nothing exceptional dirty or raw about the production, this is by the numbers, modern sounding stuff with a lot of punch to it, but clear enough so when the group breaks out its accelerated picking sequences you can make out every note. Pinched squeals all over the place, par for the course. In particular I rather enjoyed the bass tone, which is pluggy and potent enough to lend some added 'bounce' to some of the neanderthal rhythms, but overall the instruments are all mixed straight on the level and I never felt as if anything was drowning anything else in a swamp of entrails. Which is good and bad, since there's no real atmosphere of note other than the driving, pummeling mechanics of the members' limbs, but pretty standard for this niche. The vocals are club-like, blunt gutturals with an effective, toilet-flush sustain on them that will not surprise anyone, but function well enough within this particular fleshy plumbing.

Some of the lyrical placement over the chugging is hilarious here, in particular through "Repugnant Torso Defilement" and "40 oz. Facefuck". Songs that you would NOT want to share with your grandmother or girlfriend (okay, maybe if you've got a particularly masochistic counterpart); but I broke out laughing and I'm sure it was not unintentional on the band's part. I also laud that Expurgate vary up the content enough through the rather short album that it never grows dull or exhausting; I've encountered a number of these slam-oriented bands who focus all too much on the one set of slower, chugging gaits, and the Coloradans at least seem open to incorporating some of their more intense and busied influences to provide a decent range of tempos that really let you 'feel out' the breakdowns. Ultimately, it's a solid debut that will sate many fans who comb the rosters of labels like Sevared, Amputated Vein and Comatose (the last of which is releasing this), and worth a listen if you enjoy decently structured and produced death of this variety ala Kraanium, Ingested or Abominable Putridity. On the other hand, I didn't find the riff progressions timeless, distinctive or catchy enough that I'd revisit it very often.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Expurgate/160916813952730

Execration - The Acceptance of Zero Existence (2012)

Colorado chaosmongers Execration cock their fists back here, and give the listener about a minute to simmer in ambient reflection before those knuckles come flying across the confined space from speaker to ear and then continuously club and break every joint and muscle in your face, before proceeding down your neck to the rest of your joints and appendages. The Acceptance of Zero Existence, their sophomore album through Comatose Music, is not a paragon of subtlety or highly memorable composition, but there is no shortage to their promise of pure punishment, and the conviction with which they beat on their instruments is admirable in of itself, even if you won't find yourself whistling their tunes on your morning trek to the commuter rail.

That said, there is a certain level of dynamic range to this album which prevents it from subsisting on the monotony that often permeates such a brutal, blast-driven record. Lots of grooves and chugs cavorting about its nihilistic landscape. Acrobatic flights of tremolo picked guitars that create the claustrophobic sensation that you are being curb stomped by giant insects. I'd also commend the bassist, who is performing constant loops and lines that very often swerve around or step away from the central guitar progressions. Rhythmically, there are a lot of the usual influences to the Execration sound. Morbid Angel's vivacious acceleration and lunatic riffing patterns, Cryptopsy's savage precision, and Deicide's stubborn intensity, though the slamming breakdowns in pieces like "Serpentine Changeling" ring of more contemporary US brutality, and the growls are deeper and more caustic than the front men of the aforementioned legends. Where The Acceptance of Zero Existence functions most for me is in its production, the low end of the guitars churning along in rabid old school ferocity while the double bass thuds out a syncopation, and the bass wanders off into the void.

While technically efficient to exert this level of energy nonstop for nigh on 40 minutes, Execration is a band one will listen to more for its brutality than musicality. Very little melody creeps into the structure of their songs, discounting of course the frivolous and wild patterns that the guitars alternate with the lower end drudge of the grooves. The dense, palm muted chug patterns don't feel particularly distinct in a field of metal trampled on by so many players, and there are points where the record feels pretty muddy and the individual, heavier songs don't do much to distinguish themselves from one another. Then again, they don't burden the effort with tons of needless, noodling indulgence. When they spaz out, they do so meticulously, with every intention of reigning it back in to crush your vertebrae; and they never seem to lose control. I also loved the deep voice over effect they use in "The Stars Will Make Known My Rage", and the spacey effects in the interludes. Dynamically, this isn't quite so engaging as a number of the West Coast acts in the niche like Decrepit Birth, Odious Mortem or Inherit Disease, but nevertheless I'd had fun with the band's furious fisticuffs. Just don't blame me if you run up an emergency room bill upon repeated exposures to this.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Execration/152144791470734

Silencer - The Great Bear (2012)

Not to be mistaken for the suicidal Swedish black metal act of the same name, this Silencer has instead been kicking about the Colorado scene for well over a decade, sharpening and polishing its sound into an aggressive fusion of thrash and power, with smaller hints of groove and death metal for good measure. I've heard a few samplings of their past albums Death of Awe and Divisions, but never looked further into their material, an ignorance that The Great Bear will hopefully shake from not only myself, but many others. I wouldn't say that I was entirely amazed with this music, yet I can promise you that to experience Silencer is to experience something DIFFERENT, and that is more than I can say for the lion's share of new music I'm often sent for analysis.

Most impressive is the concept behind The Great Bear, which deals with the Soviet/US space rivalry in the 1950s and 60s, not necessarily a factual reenactment but more of a hypothetical alternative history. No, it's not about ursus arctos horribilis mauling nature enthusiasts in Alaska, but we can't win 'em all. Silencer has to my knowledge given us a 'first' here, and more than that, the music has the remarkable ability to actually transport the audience into the setting of its subject matter. Atmospheric, blazing and dynamic, the tracks here range from pure speed/heavy metal inflected semi-thrashers like "I Am Thunder!" with faster paced, intricate grooving licks reminiscent of bands like Megadeth, to storming, simpler walls of chords. The leads are endowed with a lot of bluesy, wild abandon, wah-wahs and such that remind me of guitar heroes like Slash if they were actually performing music with balls, and the band will occasionally even bust out a series of tremolo like, aggressive notes in tunes like "Great Bear" amidst the steadier trade metal riffs. There are even a handful of more grandiose, atmospheric overtures in the intro "Sacred War" or "Orders/Noble Sacrifice" which teeter along the precipice of glorious doom.

In other words, The Great Bear is not the easiest to pin down in terms of an exact style, but the Coloradans handle all of these components with a seasoned maturity, and none ever feel quite out of place. As to the quality of the riffing, there were highs and lows, places where the note progressions were kept harried and interesting, and others where they'd settle into a stock pattern or groove that never went anywhere exciting. Clearly a lot of work went into putting this together, and the album as a whole flows well through its brief 30 minute play-length (on the short side for such a great concept), but broken down into individual riffs it isn't quite so consistent. The drums sound sleek, and the bass is like an amplified Steve Harris in spots (intro to the song "Light", for example). The vocals have a lot of grime and gravity to them, inspired not only by the deeper end power metal growlers, but by vocalists like James Hetfield and Chuck Billy who have that natural grit to their timbres, or perhaps even the original Meliah Rage vocalist Mike Munro, and they fit well to the rather ominous atmosphere of the music, even if it's not the darkest or most despairing.

Seems to me that Silencer could find itself a widespread audience, whether amongst the usual US prog and power crowds who don't mind a more serious, aggressive subtext to the style (Savatage, for example). Or maybe fans of crushing Swedish stuff like Tad Morose or Morgana LeFay, or a less intense variation on thrash (like Testament's excellent and unsung offering The Ritual). The Great Bear is both modern and traditional, it's a work of depth, and it scratches a lot of itches. Beyond the concept, I cannot say that I was entirely blown over, largely because the choruses didn't exactly call out to me, and the riffs were about a 50/50 mesh of brilliance and banality, but make no mistake about it: Silencer is the sort of band that needs encouragement, because it's an act like this that will be capable of putting out one of those records we all wax nostalgic about 20 years later. This is not THAT record, to be sure, but I hear nothing but capability and genuine inspiration here, so we'd all better pay attention.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

http://www.silencer.cc/

Nexhymn - Black Horizon EP (2012)

Those learned in Western US death metal might remember a band called Throcult who released a few albums earlier in the 21st century and generated some small amount of buzz. Nexhymn is essentially an evolution of that group, formed by guitarist Ivan Alcala and pursuing a no-nonsense brand of pure death metal with flirts with some level of technicality but reins it in under the banner of unforgiving brutality reminiscent of Vile, Suffocation, Malevolent Creation, Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse and even a few hints of late 80s Pestilence. They've acquired one of the better female front women I've heard in this genre since Rachel Van Mastrigt-Heyzer (Sinister, etc), named Holly Wedel, whose applies her guttural percussion with appreciable volume, but the real star of the show here is the production, so loud and level that it feels like a shower of bricks descending upon your delicate brain-box.

Harried and intense without ever feeling over-indulgent or wanky, Black Horizon pummels out six tracks of potent and balanced devastation that are sure to win them some attention. I can't say that the composition here is all that original or that the vocals distinguish themselves from such a large crowd of similar acts in the field, but once Nexhymn begins to beat on you they simply will not let up, and tracks like "Undetermined Supplication" and the charnel dynamics of "Rapacious Tempest" are sure to win over the brutal purist. The drumming of Pete Gonzales is insanely flexible whether the band is blasting away or pursuing one of their choppier sequences or dissonant, atmospheric passages, and though there's a consistent aesthetic that binds the first five cuts (the closer "Death Emotion" is a slower instrumental), the band explores an effective level of dynamics in each track that they never feel backed into a corner.

It's not the most memorable material, in terms of possessing those 'money shot' riffs which make you want to put the songs on an endless loop, but I think what they might lack in catchiness they do compensate for in sheer ferocity. Goddamn, though, that production seems as if the band are already 10 or 15 years incubated (which, if you include Throcult, I guess they are). Each piece of this puzzle contributes at exactly the necessary level, I simply think the compositions could use some sticker sequences of notes. That said, there is little to stop this band from being snatched up in short order and seeded upon the world like a newfound plague. Fans of either the Polish death metal diatribes of bands like Behemoth, Hate and Vader or the elder Floridian masters owe it to themselves to check this out. Neck braces imminent.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nexhymn/114334125249755

Satan's Host - Celebration for the Love of Satan (2011)

Harry Conklin's return to Satan's Host has by all indications been a rousing success, and with Jag Panzer's dissolution adding an easy incentive to continue the 'reunion', we can cross our fingers for more output from the screaming Colorado menace. And would you know it, we didn't have to wait very long, since it also happens to be the 25th year anniversary for the band, and to celebrate, they've offered up a pair of new songs and a whole array of re-recordings from those 'in between' years (1987-2010) when the band were releasing their 'unofficial' albums to a very limited audience, most of which featured another front man known as L.C.F. Elixir. I never paid attention to these recordings aside from companion pieces The Great American Scapegoat 666 and Power~Purity~Perfection...999, but if what I'm hearing on this collection is any indicator...then Satan's Host have had some strong songs waiting in the wings.

If you enjoyed By the Hands of the Devil, one of the year's better speed/power metal recordings, then let me be blunt: you will absolutely fucking love these tracks. The band have gone all out not to simply fashion together a bunch of odds and ends, but to actually manufacture what feels like a real new album. In fact, running head to head with that last album, this is nearly identical if not superior in quality. Granted, it's got a bunch of the band's classics like "Witches Return" (Midnight Wind EP, 1987), "Hell Fire" and "Metal from Hell" (Metal from Hell, 1986) which the Tyrant had already performed on during the band's formative years, so similar to the lauded Hell debut, there's not much new here, but each piece has been carefully selected and given quite the treatment. Being brought up to 'speed' with the times, and instantly offering the fresh new fans a wider selection of sing-a-longs for the band's future set lists, without losing the quality of production unleashed on By the Hands of the Devil.

Normally I don't go out for 'remakes', but if you're going to make such vast improvements over the originals, then why not? "Metal from Hell" and "Hell Fire" are prime examples, intensely fun classics given a fresh luster through Conklin's dual vocals, shrieking as if he were a young man again. Other standouts include "Cauldron of the Ancients" (In Articulo Mortis EP, 1999), which digs in for some taut, thrashing rhythms and a doomed lurch. "Nightside of Eden" (Archidoxes of Evil, 2000) which features some of the better melodic vocal lines on the disc in a number of ranges. Or the sluggish darkness of "Satanic Grimoire" (from an album of the same name, 2006) with its great, melodic tremolo bridge. But in truth, there is not a single piece here which falls short of entertaining, and Satan's Host incorporate a good range of variation in their writing, from the more aggressive thrash/speed sequences to power balladry.

The new tunes are also quite good. Both are fairly similar, solid and heavy with scathing chorus elements, though I preferred "Convictions" for its melodic speed licks over the opener, "For the Love of Satan". The mix is brilliantly executed, with Tyrant first and foremost but never entirely overpowering the guitars or rhythm section. Original member Patrick Evil is on fire throughout, easily trumping any of his past performances in his 25 years with the band, with a wonderful and signature style of playing that provides a perfect, hellish marriage to Conklin's tone. Ultimately, this is just one of those rare 'remake' records (like Vader's XXV or Destruction's Thrash Anthems) which succeeds in justifying its existence due to the superior quality on exhibition. With this and By the Hands of the Devil under their belts, Satan's Host have rocketed out of the past to become one of the foremost acts performing USPM today, even if they weren't really 'missing' for the last decade.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10] (prepare the altar)

http://www.satanshost.com/

Speedwolf - Ride With Death (2011)

This one is well up there for 'cover of the year', competing against such titles as Morbus Chron's Sleepers in the Rift or Vader's Welcome to the Morbid Reich, if for an entirely different reason. There's just something hilarious about it, the band taking their moniker quite literally. At any rate, Ride With Death should be remembered for more than its artwork alone, because it's a pretty fun hybrid of raw old British speed with some slightly more intricate thrash ingredients, and I can see this Colorado quartet shredding up the road and making all manner of new friends and fans, potentially bringing a lot of youngsters into the embrace of this beloved, early 80s approach to extremity.

The fundamentals here were certainly laid out by Lemmy Kilminster and Motörhead over 30 years ago, and it sounds like a mix of Ace of Spades, Orgasmatron and Bomber on steroids, with Tank's Filth Hounds of Hades and maybe a little Discharge thrown in as a chaser. This isn't solely due to Reed Bruemmer's smokey, hoarse vocals, but also because of the standard, single note strumming and theatrics they incorporate into their compositions. Tracks like "Speedwolf" itself, "I Am the Demon" or "Time to Annihilate" make full use of this rapid-fire, endless reserve of energy, though I think the Coloradans also have a more modern proclivity for leads, and there are a few tunes such as "Never Twice" which fuse a more technical, power/thrash approach. Still, I like it best when they are just rocking their goddamn blocks off in tracks like "I Can't Die, "Death Ripper" or the titular "Ride With Death", which make me want to go native and Mad Max for the rest of my life...the desert on all sides, mirror-shades, leather and a tank of gas that never depletes.

Admittedly, Ride With Death can get tiring when you're experiencing it in longer spurts, because many of the songs move at the same exacting pace and there are not enormous amounts of variation within them. Amusingly, this was an issue with many albums from their influences way back when, though they weren't tearing up the pavement at quite the same velocity. But in the end, it's hard to deny the great balance of ferocious drumming and riffing here, or the charming, lighthearted personality have taken on. Speedwolf don't take anything too seriously, and yet they can still kick your own heart into overdrive. Would love to see this band on a package tour with Abigail or Midnight, teaching poseurs and suckers everywhere what's what. Ride With Dead is perhaps not so insanely awesome as a Forever Street Metal Bitch, but it's a fun enough kick-start.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

http://www.myspace.com/speedwolfmetal

Satan's Host - By the Hands of the Devil (2011)

Harry Conklin is keeping his calendar full in recent months, first with the ended hiatus of his mainstay Jag Panzer, and now by rejoining his sinister alter consciousness Satan's Host. Now, while the Tyrant has not fronted the band since their unsung classic debut Metal From Hell in 1986, the Colorado cult has hardly been inactive. At least not since the other members got their shit together at the turn of the century and released a string of albums that flew below the radar of many. Titles like The Great American Scapegoat 666 (2008) did display some ardent potential, but with Conklin back in the fold, they're a far closer approximation to their former, glorious and blasphemous selves.

Obviously, through the gulf of 25 years, studio production capabilities have advanced readily, so this is a far cleaner aural visage than Metal From Hell itself. But despite that, there are clear differences between this and Jag Panzer. Conklin explores the same general range and pitch as he has for the past decade in that better known entity, but the musicians marry this to a more malignant mixture of traditional heavy, power and even the occasional melodic black metal outburst ("By the Hands of the Devil", "Black Hilted Knife"). The guitars are far more potent and less processed than, say, Scourge of the Light, but they're not without their own melodic distinction, fused into the thundering footwork and campy occult lyrical concepts. What's more, the band will erupt into these climactic sequences like the gang shouts of "Demontia" that will force every non-poseur in miles to suppress an impish grin.

The depths of this album are simply loaded with memorable, arching vocal hooks ("Inferior Worlds", "Fallen Angel") and escalating overtures ("Norwegian Wood", "Revival") that will easily support your investment, and what you're left with is a beautiful osmosis of classic 80s Jag Panzer and Mercyful Fate, which, if you've got even the faintest shred of dignity or taste, will initiate an abyssal erection a quarter century in the making. For Conklin to reintegrate himself so effortlessly back in this long submerged outfit is a miracle in of itself, but to then produce a work superior to anything he's written with Jag since Ample Destruction is mind boggling. By the Hands of the Devil is very easily recommended to anyone who appreciates dynamic, memorable heavy metal basked in a hellish undertow. Now to cross my fingers that I don't have to wait 25 more fucking years for this to happen again. I may have lost my hearing by that point, if not my life.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10] (one voice has stood defiant)

http://www.satanshost.com/

Havok - Time is Up (2011)

Havok is not the sort of band that epitomizes any revolution or renovation of classic 80s thrash ideals, but they celebrate the genre without the fashionable pomp and circumstance, and I'm sure I'm not the only person who finds this a relief. The Coloradans are also very well versed in two of the fundamental tenets that have been present in most impressive thrash metal works of the past 30 years: 1) the riffs must, by all means, propel the listener into a hair whipping frenzy (in my case, skull whipping, as the pleasures of copious scalp protein fled my person many years ago), and 2) the vocals need to sound fucking pissed! Yes, Time is Up understands such concepts with punishing youthful clarity, and they're a huge reason why this sophomore album not only trumps the debut, but most of the other American retro thrash along with it.

Two icons. Two words that get the spine shivering and the blood stirred. One is Exodus. The other is Destruction. Havok fall directly between these two poles, invoking the viral speed and street warfare of the former in their legendary 80s works Bonded by Blood and Pleasures of the Flesh; while also channeling the strong structure and clinical evisceration of the latter. Vocally, David Sanchez straddles the line between Paul Baloff and Schmier, with a dash of Atrophy's Brian Zimmerman for good measure, and an angry, punctual percussion is thus created atop the onslaught of quality riffing and heart stopping rhythm section. The band is not opposed to some variation, as long as the central thrust remains intact: a good example of this being "D.O.A.", which streamlines some fresh, melodic/death metal guitars into the intro, and then becomes so propulsive during the bridge that it hinges on old school death. They also season in a few pure, unadulterated crossover/punk riffs (like the chorus to the opener "Prepare for Attack"), gang shouts in full effect.

But the larger fraction of the material is just true, barnstormer thrash that will tear you the fuck out of your seat: "Fatal Intervention", "No Amnesty", "Covering Fire", "Out of My Way" and the slower "Killing Tendencies" all hit the spot, but nothing is necessarily filler. Each is adorned with at least 1-2 guitar riffs that remind us of everything we love in this genre: the excitement, the surprises, the brash prophesies of our material and social flaws, the authenticity. Sure, Havok might be seen to be as derivative as the next lot, but they're not exactly assailing the laws of gravity or atomic physics here. They are creating a blood rush to the head, honoring the sounds pioneered by their forebears, and having fun in the process, just like you will be, when you go out and buy this record. They have outdone themselves, making short work of the 2009 debut Burn. It's not perfect, but along with Bonded By Blood's latest Exiled to Earth, this is easily one of the brighter flames to ignite under US thrash in years.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

http://havokband.com/

Jag Panzer - The Scourge of the Light (2011)

A lot of listeners weren't too keen on the previous Jag Panzer album, Casting the Stones, since it took a more modern, crunchy turn from what they were likely used to. I didn't mind it, but let's face facts: the Colorado power metal legends had already evolved so far from their roots on the mighty Ample Destruction that such minor changes were to be expected. As long as they don't write and release Dissident Alliance II, I can sleep at night, and the Panzer's own seven year hibernation has finally ended with The Scourge of the Light, a tighter and controlled effort that brings them back to the sounds of the 1997-2001 era, in which the band had transformed into a glinting, melodic and professional entity with hints at progressive metal.

In essence, it's a step back, but also a step forward. There is a general lack of the explosive passion of the band's brighter years; The Fourth Judgement could run this into the ground on sheer energy alone. A lot of this is due to the production, which is so incredibly clean that had the engineer scratched his jock itch during a lead sequence, you'd probably hear as if it were in the cubicle next to you. That's not necessarily a bad thing, because it brings out the very intricate melodies being woven through cuts like "The Setting of the Sun" and "Overlord", and gives the Tyrant a clean slate over which to flaunt his veteran pipes, which are admittedly solid throughout the entire play list. Christian Lasegue, who had appeared on the band's Chain of Command album (released 17 years after its recording) returns to replace Chris Broderick (now in Megadeth), and he and Mark Briody are a dynamic and fluent team, leads bristling off in either direction and rhythms complex enough to hold the curiosity even when the heart roams elsewhere.

"Condemned to Fight" is a fairly strong opener, giving the guitars a chance to flex and Harry a chance at a half-decent chorus, but the slower "Setting of the Sun" has a more interesting riff structure in the verses, and "Bringing the End" continues this trend, with the addition of a pretty ballsy, swaggering guitar line here that returns in the chorus. I didn't love "Call to Arms", though it was fun to hear the band go all Maiden, and while immediately accessible, "Cycles" and "Overlord" didn't leave a lasting impression, nor the more old school sounding "Let It Out". But the next piece "Union" is one of the more interesting on the album, refined melodies threading through another of their brighter mid-paced numbers, and once "Burn" picks up from its piano intro, it too soars. Closer "The Book of Kells" is the most ambitious track, 8 minutes of slowly rising, epic thunder, and it also stands as one of the better composed.

All said and done, The Scourge of the Light is another good album in a long stretch that has suffered only a few (considerable) hurdles, and I can't think that fans of Thane to the Throne or Mechanized Warfare are going to scoff at it. There are certainly a few tracks that some might deem filler, and I found a lack of fire in about half the album, but then I'm an old hanger on to the displaced illusion that we might someday hear something as decadent as another Ample Destruction from these guys. I've never been a huge fan of the guitar tone used in their 1997-2001, since I've always felt it was thin and processed, and I don't exactly love it here; but performance-wise this band is the very definition of professional, and they tend to wring out some depth from their riffs due to their skill level, and this 9th album is far from run of the mill power metal.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

http://www.jagpanzer.com/