Country Briefs

Shit Kickin'

I grew up in a rural area in northeast Nebraska. As such, I was exposed to a lot of what was presented as country music. In truth, it was just pop music with affectations of country. As I got older, I discovered the legend of Johnny Cash, and realized there must be more to the genre.

My country exploration has been generally timid. I've listened to some Hank Williams III, but I've found that I like the idea of Hank 3 more than the reality. Thankfully, there's more country to appeal to metalheads than just Hank and Johnny.

Bob Wayne: Outlaw Carnie (2011)
3.5 out of 5 stars

Of the records in this post, this is easily the closest to what you might think of when you think about Hank 3 or country music. In a way, it's really quite fitting that Bob Wayne's Outlaw Carnie is on Century Media. It's dumb and straight-forward, with an attitude. Like the great Cash (who gets mentioned on "Ghost Town"), it's a lot about storytelling. But the stories are worth listening to, even if (like me) you're not usually interested in lyrics.



Buy Outlaw Carnie

Abysme: Strange Rites (2012)

More OSDM

Guest review by Patrick, proprietor of Beards, Etc.

Abysme are a Pittsburgh-based death metal act releasing their full-length debut this month. I was unfamiliar with the band, but as I had heard their vocalist's work with Funerus, I had at least an inkling of what to expect.

It's odd how rarely anybody points this out, but "old school" covers a lot of different sounds within the death metal spectrum. I mention that because what I like about Abysme is that they manage to sound old school without allowing themselves to be trapped by any one of those styles. There are times when this band sounds straight out of Sweden circa 1990, but they also make numerous forays into Autopsy-esque death/doom territory or just straight Florida-style death. This works well because, even though you don't really hear specifically new sounds, you hear familiar components stitched together in a new way.

Satanic Bloodspraying: At the Mercy of Satan (2012)

Best Name Ever

Can you possibly think of a better name than Satanic Bloodspraying? The truth is, with all the various raw black metal albums vying for our attention, that was the thing that made them stick out. It’s 99% of the reason I decided to listen to At the Mercy of Satan. But I’m glad I did.

The style of music is exactly what you’d expect from a South American band with a name like Satanic Bloodspraying, i.e., raw, ultra-aggressive and over-the-top black/thrash/ear-rape. But what is most obvious upon first listen is that they didn’t record it in the typical lo-fi style. Refreshingly, they let the filth of the music speak for itself instead of trying to artificially “improve” on it. That means you can actually hear the distorted bass! Score one for this Bolivian debut.

Lord Impaler: Admire the Cosmos Black (2011)

Admire the Darkness

Guest review by Metallattorney. He is the law.

Greece has one of the more underrated black metal scenes. Most people are familiar with Rotting Christ of course, but not a lot know about Kawir, Varathron, Dodsferd, or Ravencult. Well add Lord Impaler to that list as well, because this band is just as impressive as other black metal bands from their home country such as the ones named.

Lord Impaler has actually been around for quite a long time, though this is their first full-length. They have released four demos and a split with three other Greek black metal bands in the past. Lord Impaler does not have a full-time drummer, so the position is filled with a guest each new recording.

Weapon: Embers and Revelations (2012)

Non-Aligned Death

Weapon is one of those rare death metal bands who don’t sound exactly like a more famous band, or a combination of two more famous bands. With 2010’s From the Devil’s Tomb, they had Middle Eastern inflections, yet they sounded nothing at all like Nile. Embers and Revelations finds them continuing on their own path, but with a few changes.

Most notably, the Middle Eastern aspect is toned down significantly. You can still hear it in places, but those moments tend to be fleeting and/or subtler than they were on Tomb. The other more notable change is in the production, which is much clearer this time around—they are on powerhouse Relapse now, after all—but it still manages to avoid being overpolished.

Trails of Sorrow: Languish in Oblivion (2012)

Problematic

Guest review by Patrick, proprietor of Beards, Etc.

Trails of Sorrow are an Italian funeral doom band who released their debut Languish in Oblivion earlier this month. This two-piece just formed in 2011, so unsurprisingly this was my first encounter with their material.

Slow, sluggish guitar riffs drift slog their way through a sea of simulated instrumentation as the record gets underway. The drumming, piano, and any other occasional backing sounds are all handled electronically, which gives this record an odd feel. Rather than going for a deep, rough, organically heavy sound like many doom and funeral doom bands, these guys opt for a heavily processed, weirdly detached approach. There are places where it works. The riffing is sufficiently heavy and gloomy, and the somewhat alien atmosphere of the record can really click into place with the guitar and the guttural roars of the vocalist to create an effective experience.

Auroch: From Forgotten Worlds (2012)

Canada Is Awesome

There are hundreds of bands playing old-school death metal these days. Almost all of them can be succinctly described: This one sounds like Morbid Angel, that one is Swe-death, the other one is an Incantation clone. Very few have managed to sound old-school while being unique. Auroch is one of those few.

The Canadian three-piece have the popular Incantation-style production, murky and evil. Many would be satisfied by that alone. They’d play some equally murky and evil (yet mundane) riffs and call it “atmosphere.” That’s not enough for Auroch.

Warclouds: A Disturbing Presence (2011)

...Of Programmed Drumming

Guest review by Metallattorney. He is the law.

South America has some of the best, and most underrated, metal scenes in the world. Some of the black and death metal that has been coming out of that continent proves that there are still some great, original bands out there. It has actually always been that way with the mighty Sarcofago, Sepultura, and Vulcano all rising out of Brazil in the 1980's.

Unfortunately, there are also a lot of fairly mundane acts from the continent. Bands that do not really bring anything new to the table, but simply rehash many of the same ideas that other bands have.

Summary Judgments, Vol. 2

The same drill as last time: Here are five releases that I began listening to, but decided that either I wouldn't enjoy listening to much more, or that I wouldn't be able to write a decent review. The number assigned (X out of X) is how many songs I got into the record.

Hero's Fate: Human Tides: Black Light Inception (2012)
(4 songs out of 12)

I sampled a little of Human Tides: Black Light Inception by Hero's Fate and heard one of those melodic metal ballads with some Amorphisms, and thought I might like it. As I got further into it, I realized that's all it was: melodic metal ballads, packaged as melodic death metal purely because of the vocals. In truth, it's a dull, slow- to mid-paced rhythm section with morose leads and growled vocals. A song or two would be OK, but a whole album of this?

Arkhamin Kirjasto: Torches Ablaze (2012)

Under the Radar

So, apparently “New Wave of Finnish Heavy Metal” (NWOFHM) is a thing, at least according to about a half-dozen Finnish bands. I’m not so sure that’s enough to qualify as a “wave” at all. Whether there’s anything to it, I don’t know, but if Arkhamin Kirjasto is any indication, a better term for what’s going on might be “Children of Children of Bodom” (COCOB).

Don’t for one second take that to mean they’re ripping off COB, because they’re not. Like the much more famous band, they take an extreme metal sensibility to an ordinarily much more melodic and accessible style of music. Where COB does a kind of death-meets-power-metal thing, AK is taking death to classic heavy metal. And it is so very, very good.