Farsot: Insects (2011)

More Plausible than Twinkie Domination

Everyone says that only two things will survive a nuclear apocalypse: roaches and Twinkies. I can tell you for a fact that’s bullshit. Hostess is having serious financial troubles, and we’ll probably run out of Twinkies before the bombs drop. Plus, there’s a Twinkie that’s been sitting at my desk for less than four months, and it’s not looking too hot. It’s sucked the cellophane into itself and is starting to get some serious discoloration.

Farsot's Insects is based around the idea that bugs will continue to thrive in a radioactive environment, and is peppered with samples suggesting that we will destroy ourselves, ultimately making the insects masters of the world.

Sphere: Homo Hereticus (2012)

Working Title: Going Through a Blasphemous Phase

Sphere’s Homo Hereticus is another submission by Godz ov War Productions. As opposed to my other recent Polish death metal review (Pandemonium), Sphere is more in line with what you expect. In other words, they’ve heard their fair share of Vader and Behemoth, and they’re not afraid to show it on their sophomore full-length.

You already know exactly what to expect from this band. It’s mostly fast-paced death metal riffs with a modern production. (What is it with Poland and modern production, anyway? Didn’t they get the “raw is better” memo?) The mix has everything exactly where it should be, and the band plays with precision and energy. The vocals are a hoarse death growl, somewhere between Nergal and your average Swe-death gut-belcher. In other words, pretty much exactly like Vader's vocals.

Countess: On Wings of Defiance (2011)

Technically, They Outrank Baroness

Countess is a black metal band out of the Netherlands who have been kicking around since 1993, a feat which is in itself astounding. They are number 127 on the Metal Archives, out of over 83,000, which is pretty significant in itself. The band has released a whopping 13 full-length albums, as well as a couple EPs and a split. Sole current member Orlok contacted me with a review copy of their latest, On Wings of Defiance.

Naming your band after another band is a tried-and-true metal tradition, going back at least as far as Saint Vitus choosing their name after a Black Sabbath song in 1980. While it may seem rash to jump to the conclusion Countess are named for Bathory, it becomes pretty obvious when you see the font and the album art. And when you hear the music, it’s proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

A band that started in 1993 could have been at the forefront of black metal. They could have shaped the sound. But instead, this sounds like a second- (or third-) tier Bathory clone, with strong Venom influence.

I wish all the best to them. It takes a true metal warrior to keep at something like this for 20 years. But I don't need to listen past the third song to know that I've heard this before, and heard it better. I issue summary judgment against On Wings of Defiance.



Buy: The Basar

Black Pyramid: II (2012)

Better Than Gray Cylinder

Black Pyramid is a Massachusetts stoner doom band that I first learned about from a stellar review over at That’s How Kids Die. That article makes a distinction between “rock-influenced” metal bands and “metal-influenced” metal bands. The former are the only ones, it is argued, who can make their riffs swing.

Whether that distinction is true or not, Black Pyramid definitely know how to make it swing. Based purely on sound, it’s tough to place them geographically. I first thought of traditional doom via Finland, but then I thought they sounded more like southern swing. But then I thought, no, they sound English. The truth is, they’re not strictly following any one accepted formula, regional or otherwise.

Satyros: Riven (2011)

Too Extreme?

The German band Satyros contacted me to point me to their sophomore full-length, Riven, available as a free download on their Bandcamp page.

They introduced themselves to me as a blackened melodic death metal band. As I was first listening to it, I was really struggling to find anything to compare it to. It's far more melodic than any blackened death metal has a right to be. I kept struggling, until about track 9, and then I realized why I was so confused.

It's not extreme metal at all.

40 Pushups

I've been playing the Wii Fit almost every night for the past two months, in addition to my normal weight-lifting routine. I hit 40 pushups tonight in the Pushup Challenge, and I feel pretty good about it.

Fitness, like metal, should always be a challenge. What challenges have you faced, and beaten, in recent weeks?

Chaos Dei: Arising from Chaos (2012)

Chaos Dei Falls on a Wednesday This Year

Chaos Dei is a French black metal band whose debut Arising from Chaos was released in January. This is the second out of three albums submitted to me by Totalrust.

Right now, I think it's safe to say that the French are leading the black metal pack. They tend to be just as avant-garde and experimental as the more lauded US bands, but without losing the viciousness of Scandinavian black metal. The French black metal scene also has the distinction of having plenty of bands that don't sound like one another. The scene doesn't have a sound, per se, but certain principles and unifying themes. Chaos Dei fits those expectations perfectly well.

Murw: Kanker (2011)

I Lurw It

Heidens Hart recently submitted four records to me for review, and I decided to focus first on Murw's Kanker. Why? Because their name looks cool when I read it (although as it turns out, it just means "mellow"). The album art was also the most eye-catching of the bunch. Hey, I don't need a good reason.

Murw is a Dutch band that's been around for 15 years, but they've only released one split and a raft of demos. Kanker is their first full-length. From what I can gather, their previous work is generally lumped in with depressive black metal and atmospheric black metal. I don't have any idea what DBM is supposed to be, exactly (no one seems to know how to define it), and ABM tends to be boring. So I wasn't expecting a lot out of this one. I was very much surprised.

Unbodied: Unbodied (EP 2012)

They're from The Ohio

Ohio's Unbodied contacted me with a review copy of their self-titled debut EP. It has some gorgeous, colorful, psychedelic artwork that recalls some of John Dyer Baizley's best works, like Phantom Limb and Kvelertak. As anyone who's gone blind buying knows, cool cover art is a strong indicator that the music will be cool as well.

Their Bandcamp page has a grocery list of different genres name-dropped, but as the Baizley influence might suggest, their main influences are sludge and grind. They also have a little bit of metalcore in the sound, but really, doesn't every young band have that these days? And apparently, they don't even realize it, because that's about the only genre they don't use to describe their music. Thankfully, metalcore is not an overpowering influence.

Folk Briefs

Not Exactly Kumbaya

I've spoken a few times about "dark Americana", or a dark folk/country mix. It's sometimes called Gothic Americana. Here is the whole Wikipedia article on the topic:

Gothic Americana is a style of alternative country that fuses Americana music (neotraditional country, progressive country, outlaw country, country rock, rockabilly, folk rock, bluegrass music, blues, rhythm and blues) with elements of gothic rock, gothabilly, psychobilly, deathcountry. The main representatives of that music are the musicians of Denver music scene: 16 Horsepower, Wovenhand, Lilium, Slim Cessna's Auto Club, Jay Munly, as well as other American (Willard Grant Conspiracy, Reverend Red) or even European bands (Helldorado).

In an effort to possibly destroy any credibility I have left (considering my Pantera article earlier this week), I'm going to talk about some of my exploration of this genre and related dark folk/country music, even if not properly considered Americana.

Wovenhand: Wovenhand (2002)

Wovenhand (sometimes written as Woven Hand) is the solo band of the father of Gothic Americana, David Eugene Edwards (previously of 16 Horsepower), and it's been my main focal point for exploring this sound. I have most of the band's albums, and I love every one of them. Their self-titled debut features a few tracks that appear in different versions later in their discography, but it's nice to hear each version. The music is dark, catchy, and musically quite diverse, with a menagerie of different instruments and production techniques making each cut unique. My favorite is "Your Russia". It's not as good as some of the band's later work, but is still excellent, deserving a 4 out of 5 star rating.