Giöbia: Plasmatic Idol (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Paul Scoble]
Giöbia have been making psychedelic noises since 2004. In that time the 4 piece has produced 6 studio albums and 1 live album, the first of which came out in 2004. The main sound on Plasmatic Idol is psychedelic rock, although the album does contain some elements that are a little different. This is shown right from the first, instrumental track Parhelion. Parhelion is mainly electronic, with an early eighties feel, at some points there is a trance feel to the electronic elements, as the track goes on there is more guitar added to the track, so it feels more ‘rock’. Next track In The Dawn Light is a relaxed piece of psychedelic rock. It’s got a slight country rock sense to it, so it has a similarity to Elder, and in some of the softer sections it reminds me a little of some of Primal Scream’s less up-tempo material. Title track Plasmatic Idol is a short soft electronic instrumental. Haridwar is a mellow track that features (what sounds to me like) a Fender Rhodes keyboard, giving the track a slight Doors feel. The Escape is a piece of minimalist psychedelic rock, it’s mainly electronics and keyboards, but does get faster and more purposeful, the last quarter being much more rock.
Far Behind is an instrumental that has a slow and brooding feel, and also features some very pleasing slide guitar, before getting heavier and darker nearer the end. Heart Of Stone has a folky feel to it. Strummed, clean guitar parts mix with psychedelic elements to make this a very interesting piece of minimalist psychedelia, with some really lovely melodies. The album comes to a close with The Mirror House, which is relaxed and mellow, that is a little reminiscent of Green Lung’s excellent album Woodland Rights. The second half of the song is a bit more aggressive and purposeful and gives the album a really nice rocky ending. Plasmatic Idol is a great piece of psychedelic rock. It’s packed with great melodies and fantastic riffs, it’s relaxed when it needs to be, but is always ready to get heavier and more driving. It takes a little time to get into your head, but when it does, it just won’t go away, which I see as a sign of a really great album. Highly enjoyable psychedelic rock, that is highly recommended. 8/10
Far Behind is an instrumental that has a slow and brooding feel, and also features some very pleasing slide guitar, before getting heavier and darker nearer the end. Heart Of Stone has a folky feel to it. Strummed, clean guitar parts mix with psychedelic elements to make this a very interesting piece of minimalist psychedelia, with some really lovely melodies. The album comes to a close with The Mirror House, which is relaxed and mellow, that is a little reminiscent of Green Lung’s excellent album Woodland Rights. The second half of the song is a bit more aggressive and purposeful and gives the album a really nice rocky ending. Plasmatic Idol is a great piece of psychedelic rock. It’s packed with great melodies and fantastic riffs, it’s relaxed when it needs to be, but is always ready to get heavier and more driving. It takes a little time to get into your head, but when it does, it just won’t go away, which I see as a sign of a really great album. Highly enjoyable psychedelic rock, that is highly recommended. 8/10
Odious Mortem: Synesthesia (Willowtip Inc) [Charlie Rogers]
As a big fan of tech death, I jumped on the chance to give these guys a listen out of the MoM bag of goodies, and am very glad I did. The album rips open with a clanking bass riff, and pulls no punches as it proceeds to noodle your ears off with the sweet spot between brutality and technical ability. I’m a big fan of being able to blend frantic fretwork with infectious heavy grooves, and the album delivers on both fronts.
The vocals have an echoey feel to them, more of a distant growl than ear piercing screeches, and they blend well with the layers of guitar, drums, and bass. It’s not quite down at the gurgly end of Demilich or Chthe'ilist, but it gave me the same sort of vibes as bands of that sort. Fitting really, as the technical aspects of the riffs were certainly nodding towards that end of the tech death spectrum, rather than the highly melodic Obscura end, for the most part. That’s not to say there’s an absence of melody, but rather a more complex weave than you’d be able to whistle along to at first listen.
Upon first listen, however, a lot of the detail blurred into a haze, and I didn’t recall anything of note. I had to give the album a few listens before I had a stronger feeling than “yeah, pretty good, I guess”. While the musicianship on display is clearly of a high calibre, perhaps more memorable songwriting would help retain new listeners who only heard the tracks once. How they could do that, I don’t know, but certainly this album is a grower rather than a show-er. Overall, I enjoyed Synesthesia, and will dive into their back catalogue to give them a proper go. 7/10
As a big fan of tech death, I jumped on the chance to give these guys a listen out of the MoM bag of goodies, and am very glad I did. The album rips open with a clanking bass riff, and pulls no punches as it proceeds to noodle your ears off with the sweet spot between brutality and technical ability. I’m a big fan of being able to blend frantic fretwork with infectious heavy grooves, and the album delivers on both fronts.
The vocals have an echoey feel to them, more of a distant growl than ear piercing screeches, and they blend well with the layers of guitar, drums, and bass. It’s not quite down at the gurgly end of Demilich or Chthe'ilist, but it gave me the same sort of vibes as bands of that sort. Fitting really, as the technical aspects of the riffs were certainly nodding towards that end of the tech death spectrum, rather than the highly melodic Obscura end, for the most part. That’s not to say there’s an absence of melody, but rather a more complex weave than you’d be able to whistle along to at first listen.
Upon first listen, however, a lot of the detail blurred into a haze, and I didn’t recall anything of note. I had to give the album a few listens before I had a stronger feeling than “yeah, pretty good, I guess”. While the musicianship on display is clearly of a high calibre, perhaps more memorable songwriting would help retain new listeners who only heard the tracks once. How they could do that, I don’t know, but certainly this album is a grower rather than a show-er. Overall, I enjoyed Synesthesia, and will dive into their back catalogue to give them a proper go. 7/10
Giver: Sculpture Of Violence (Holy Roar Records) [Paul Scoble]
Giver are a German five piece, and Sculpture Of Violence is the band's second album, coming 2 years after the bands debut Where The Cycle Breaks. The band class themselves as ‘Modern’ Hardcore, which gives you a clue to whats on offer on this album. This does feel a little like Hardcore, but a slower, less intense sound, softer than what I would class as Hardcore. This feels a little like Metalcore, and in some places more like Pop Punk. One of the problems are the vocals, which are more Angsty rather than Angry. The vocals are too high in the mix as well; in some places being louder than all of the music. So, what we get is punk riffs played in a melodic, mid paced way, that only occasionally feels like hardcore.
In some ways, the band have made a rod for their own backs, as there are a couple of places where the band put their collective feet down, and the music reaches speeds that I would call Hardcore. In opener Night Season and the track The Same Stream, there are parts that are great, fast, savage, and in your face. Pure undiluted aggressive Hardcore that is just great; but just as you are celebrating this, the band’s heads drop and we are back to lacklustre, plodding not quite hardcore. The only track where this fast and aggressive feel keeps up is New Gods, which is a short, fast blast of a track.
It’s a shame that most of this album plods rather than rages, the band is quite clearly capable of raging. But most of this album is plodding and uninspiring. If the band can take the fast and aggressive elements of this album and try to build from them then they might well produce some decent material, but what's on offer here is quite frankly Boring. 6/10
Giver are a German five piece, and Sculpture Of Violence is the band's second album, coming 2 years after the bands debut Where The Cycle Breaks. The band class themselves as ‘Modern’ Hardcore, which gives you a clue to whats on offer on this album. This does feel a little like Hardcore, but a slower, less intense sound, softer than what I would class as Hardcore. This feels a little like Metalcore, and in some places more like Pop Punk. One of the problems are the vocals, which are more Angsty rather than Angry. The vocals are too high in the mix as well; in some places being louder than all of the music. So, what we get is punk riffs played in a melodic, mid paced way, that only occasionally feels like hardcore.
In some ways, the band have made a rod for their own backs, as there are a couple of places where the band put their collective feet down, and the music reaches speeds that I would call Hardcore. In opener Night Season and the track The Same Stream, there are parts that are great, fast, savage, and in your face. Pure undiluted aggressive Hardcore that is just great; but just as you are celebrating this, the band’s heads drop and we are back to lacklustre, plodding not quite hardcore. The only track where this fast and aggressive feel keeps up is New Gods, which is a short, fast blast of a track.
It’s a shame that most of this album plods rather than rages, the band is quite clearly capable of raging. But most of this album is plodding and uninspiring. If the band can take the fast and aggressive elements of this album and try to build from them then they might well produce some decent material, but what's on offer here is quite frankly Boring. 6/10
Invictus: The Catacombs Of Fear (F.D.A Records) [Charlie Rogers]
A trip down the more traditional style of death metal here, Invictus bring forth a little over half an hour of solid death metal. And it is indeed solid, the album feels very well structured. This sonicwall has deep foundations - the rumbling bass and tasteful thuds of double kick cement a sturdy platform for the guitarwork to shine, from gutsy riff to panicked lead, each instrument has it’s own space in the ear. I enjoyed the vocal performance, which harks back to the older styles of death metal, rather than the modern obsession with grotesque gutturals or incomprehensible noises that you can’t even pretend to understand - some lyrics even stood out, which is a refreshing change from the standard fare of death metal these days. Stand out tracks for me are Bizarre Dreams, Diabolic Intent, Sinkhole Of Ghouls, and the title track The Catacombs Of Fear.
There’s a lot of groove splattered across the album, with feel changes and a real understanding of how to keep you engaged for the whole of the song, which is exactly what you want for an album of songs lasting less than 4 minutes each. My only complaint is there’s not enough of it, but perhaps Invictus have found the sweet spot where you get just enough of their music here without letting it bore you. I found myself unconsciously nodding along to many of the passages while trying to write this up. If that’s not what you want from an album, then you’ll have to look elsewhere, but if you want to inject a fun, fast, rifftastic album into your head, you can’t go much wrong with this one. 8/10