Reviews: Vomitory, Noctambulist, Volcano, Antre (Paul S)

Second track Forty Seconds Bloodbath (I was slightly disappointed that this track is 3 minutes forty eight seconds long) is a blast of a song, fast simple riff and a drumming pattern that has so much velocity and inertia to it, it could set land speed records. The track also boasts a brilliantly musical harmony solo. Forever In Gloom is a massively fast shock wave of a song, there is a slow middle section for the listener to get their breath back, before you are tipped back into the maelstrom of blasting death metal. Heaps Of Blood is a mid-paced piece of death metal fury. The main riff has a slight punky feel to it. The song is a nice change of pace (small change of pace, but a change of pace nevertheless), and batters the listener in a slightly different way to the rest of the album. Embraced By Pain starts with those nasty little tri-tones, before going into some beautifully flowing, syncopated old school death metal. Title track Redemption has a battering opening, before slowing down for some devastatingly crushing riffs. 

The track then kicks off into more really rapid death metal. Ashes Of Mourning has a huge opening, before going into some quite thrashy riffing, maybe a little reminiscent of early Obituary, and a nice little solo as well. Final track Partly Dead is a subtle, lilting ballad, no I’m joking of course it isn’t, it’s a blast of old school nastiness. What else could finish this cracking album! Redemption is a great album. Old school through and through, but done so well, Vomitory are clearly masters of this style. The album is great fun, I’ve really enjoyed it. The version of the album I’ve got has 5 bonus track that are very good as well, so it’s really good value as well. If you like old school death metal, you need this album in your life! 8/10

Noctambulist: Atmospheres Of Desolation (Blood Harvest Records)

Noctambulist are a 4 piece based in Denver. The band have been going since 2016 and this is their first album. The basic sound on this album is dense, dissonant death metal in a similar style to Nile or possibly Dying Fetus, but the band that they sound most like is Behemoth when they were producing dense, dissonant technical death metal. The sound that they perfected on Evangelion, before Nurgal saw how well Watain were doing making commercial black metal, and turned Behemoth into the most plastic of plastic black metal bands. The album starts with an intro track Dimming LightsIlluminate which is dissonant guitars with shouted vocalisations. Abnegation drops the listener strait into blasting guitars and drums. Dense, harsh guitar riffs and some very impressive drumming, batter you into submission. There is a slower, softer section in the middle, but it doesn’t hang around for long, before the swirling maelstrom of riffs and thundering drums crashes back in. Next track Atmospheres Of Desolation has a very similar feel and structure as the song that came before it. 

Opening with blasting, till a softer middle section, and then blasting till the end again. Jubilant Cataclysm is a slightly different beast to the two track that preceded it. The start is more measured, the tempo is slower and the riffs are less dense, but considerably more dissonant. The most impressive part of this track is the drumming, which is incredibly intricate and complex. Denial Of Autonomy is back to the template set on Abnegation and Atmospheres Of Desolation. Blasting - Dissonant slower middle section - Blasting, it’s something the band is very good at, and they seem to know where their strengths lie. Final track Habitual Falsehood has a long slow build up before going into some very fast and aggressive blasting, crashing blast beats, with close packed riffs. The ending of the song, and the album is slower and more measured. Atmospheres Of Desolation has some great material on it. If you’ve been missing Behemoths death metal style, then this could be for you. Although the material is of a very high quality, there is one slight problem with this album; it’s really short.

The whole album is 28 minutes long, with an intro track, and at least 1 song has a long intro. So you get about 23 minutes of music, which I think is more of a EP than a album. The whole time I’ve been listening to this album, I’ve been assuming it was an EP, so I was a little shocked when I found out the band and their record company were calling it an album. It is good, but it’s also short, have a listen before buying, if you’re not that keen on it, you might not be happy with how much music you get for your money. 7/10

Volcano: The Island (TeePee Records)

Volcano are a 5 piece based in San Diego, they have been going since 2017 and The Island is their first album. There are several different bands called Volcano, but these guys will stand out as they have a very unique sound. Most of the material is sixties style psychedelic rock, mixed with lots of Afro-beat style drums and percussion. The heavy percussive sound works well with the psychedelic rock, there was a lot of that sort of influence in sixties rock, a lot of latino music is very rhythmic and that was a big influence on the late sixties rock scene. In addition to the standard drum kit (snare, bass, toms and cymbals), I’ve noticed these instruments: Djembes, Bongos, Claves, Guiro Tone Blocks, Shakers, Ganzas, and Rainsticks and I am in no way an expert in percussion. This is a very rhythmic album. There is a similarity to a lot of late sixties bands like The Allman Brothers, The Doors, The Grateful Dead, Santana, Captain Beefheart, and some of Frank Zappa’s sixties output (although not his later work). 

The album gets underway with Naked Pray, a great piece of psychedelic rock. The riffs are full of energy, most of the riffs on this album are actually played on Hammond Organ rather than guitar. There is lots of guitar on this album, but it is more of a soloing instrument. This shouldn’t worry you, the hammond organ is a great instrument to riff on, it can be just a choppy and rhythmic as a guitar. The vocals on here are mainly spoken rather than sung, and the chorus (there are some great choruses on this album) are chanted gang vocals. The song has some very long solo’s on guitar and on hammond, both are great; tuneful and engaging, so they never get stale or feel like they have outstayed their welcome. The island starts with a simple guitar lick before the funky percussion comes in and then launches another cracking hammond riff. The track has a slightly lighter, feel to the first track, but with all the tracks on this album, it has a great groove to it, I could happily dance the night away to this band! No Evil, Know Demon starts with a fantastic hammond riff, before a heavily wah-wah’d guitar gives us the word on the street. Again we get a brilliant hammond part to drive the song along.

There are lots of interesting percussive elements in this song as well. The track has a interesting spoken vocal part, and a great chorus that is chanted in a call and response style, which I have found impossible to not sing along to. The track also boasts more great solos from the guitar and hammond. Most of all this song is fun, as is the rest of the album, but man this is a joyful, vibrant track, it’s difficult to feel sad whilst listening to it. Eruption is a 1 minute interlude of percussion, hammond and guitar noise which is really an intro to the next track. Skewered has a slightly different feel to the rest of the album. There is a big harmonica riff going through a lot of the song, also this is a song that has percussion at it’s core. The other instruments take a back seat to the huge amount of percussion. There are places where this track reminds me of LA Woman by The Doors. The album is brought to an end by the song 10000 Screaming Souls which is a fantastically tight piece of psychedelic rock that is a little reminiscent of some of the material on Frank Zappa’s masterpiece Hot Rats. The vocals on the verse section remind me a little of the verse section on Road To Nowhere by Talking Heads. 

The track boasts a huge chorus with many, many voices on it. There is also a very impressive solo / instrumental section which makes this a brilliant track to end the album. The Island is an odd, strange album. But it pulls off odd so well, I wish all albums were as odd as this! There is a similarity with the Here Lies Man album that I reviewed last year; although I think this is a better realised album. The song structures are better, and the band have embraced the slightly unhinged attitude that Zappa and Captain Beefheart did so well. The album has a sense of humour, and feels like a big, funny, deranged, delight of an album. It feels life affirming and positive. Mad, but in the best way possible. Beautifully Bonkers. 8/10

Antre: Void (Self Released)

Antre are a black metal band hailing from Nottingham who formed in 2017, Void is their first album. The five piece take their name from the old english word for a cave or cavern. So, what have Antre got for us on their first attempt at a full length? First track Suffer The Light has a slow build up before crashing into some very good blasting tremolo picked black metal. The feel is quite second wave, with maybe a little atmospheric black metal nuance and subtle shading. Imagine Wolves In The Throne Room playing 1349 or Tsjuder tracks, and you are getting quite close. The song also has a fairly discordant slower section to it that is handled very well. Fear The Old Blood is a cracking bit of savage black metal, there is a slight hardcore feel to some of the riffing, and a slower part with shouted vocals. Despite the viciousness and ferocity of the riffing there is an innate musicality and tunefulness to most of the material on here. Denisovan is a short acoustic guitar interlude, a brief palette cleanser before the nastiness restarts. Into Oblivion opens with a blast beat before going into a more mid-paced tempo, the track has a relentless and unstoppable sense that is very pleasing, as is a softer section that has very anguished spoken word vocals. 

Tyrant is a very nasty piece of work, and uses some interesting rhythmic devices to enhance the nastiness, slightly wrong footing the listener. Guided By Nightmares has a slow intro before mid-paced blasting. The track has an unrelenting, trance inducing feel that I really enjoyed. The track has a slow ending that is still deeply offensive, but gives the track a little change of pace. The Frozen Deep is another acoustic interlude. Infinite Abyss blasts strait out of the acoustic track that preceded it, making it nastier by comparison. The track is very aggressive, with viscous vocals and some fantastic blasting. It slows down near the end, but without losing any intensity. Final song Beyond The Skies is the longest track on the album, and starts in a loose, melodic way that I thought was a little reminiscent of British black metal band Wode. The track then goes into a faster and harder section that although savage, is a little more controlled than the material that has come before it. The song has a little more melody than the other songs. 

The last quarter of the song is much slower but with definite intent. Void is a great Black Metal album. It’s viscous and savage, blasting and intense, but it is also melodic, tuneful, nuanced and subtle. It contains an inherent tunefulness, that cuts through all the brutality; this is brutal black metal that contains riffs that get into your head, that you can’t help humming. Antre are a fantastic addition to Britons black metal scene, for a first album Void is stunning! 8/10