Thursday, February 27, 2014

Summary Judgments, Volume 10

Dismissed

Ephel Duath: Hemmed by Light, Shaped by Darkness (2013)

Even though I kind of liked The Painter's Pallete, there is now a confirmed pattern of Ephel Duath's music making less and less sense to me with each release. I'm not saying it's not good. I won't even say it's not brilliant, because it could be. But if you say it is, I'll just have to take your word for it.



Leaf Hound: Live in Japan (2014)

The proto-metal movement spawned a lot of semi-mythical bands who quickly faded into shadow. My knowledge of it is tenuous, so I'll just take the press release on face value that Leaf Hound is a real band from the time. Reuniting them for a live set 40 years later sounds like a risky proposition, but the results from Live in Japan are certainly no train wreck. Not indispensible, but definitely respectable.




Kultika: The Strange Innerdweller (2013)

Kultika introduced themselves as a post-metal band in the vein of Isis, which just proves their lack of self-awareness. The reality is they don't seem to have the patience to create that kind of tension. They sound like a metalcore band trying to be Isis, and it's lukewarm.



Depravation: II: Maledictum (2013)

Depravation play a kind of hardcore with influence from extreme metal. That influence seems to be mostly in the sound of the instruments as far as I can tell. I'm not typically a fan of hardcore, and this isn't doing anything to make itself an exception to that rule. It's pay-what-you-want, if you want to take the chance on it.



Undecimber: Dead Inside (2013)

There's still a part of me that has a soft spot for gothic metal, but Undecimber's approach is too restrained to really catch my attention. Parts of it are pretty catchy, though.


Downfall Records

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