Necrot: Mortal (Tankcrimes)
As a word of warning before you press play on Mortal from Oakland metal act Necrot, you may want to have a neck brace handy as your head will bang, and it will bang a lot. This trio blend the aggression of explosive death metal and grindcore nastiness. You can make links to Venom on this second full length record, which was preceded by 2017's Blood Offerings, it's chock full of grinding guitar riffs from both Sonny Reinhardt (guitars) and also from Luca Indrio who's bass playing basically acts like as rhythm guitar keeping the pace along with the destructive drumming of Chad Gailey who abuses the drum kit throughout. I mentioned the Venom connection and this is very well represented by the fuzzy analog production on this record meaning everything except the low growled vocals has a trebley sound that you would also hear on the early records from Bolt Thrower and Morbid Angel as well.
Much like previous outing Mortal is a break neck outing never lets you catch your breath, but unlike there where they had a slightly more simplistic approach these songs are a lot more complex musically, there's nuance there even if the track is just three minutes of unrelenting abuse. For example Asleep Forever twists between slower sections and outright blasting before giving a pit starting groove in the middle section. Sinister Will too has this in droves along with a nifty thrash approach, while the title track brings some doom flavours. It's densely layered and you do have to pay attention to the record to hear the variations in the songs where you will also notice that the whole album has a flow with each track bleeding into the next. Very much recommended for fans of savage death metal, Mortal is blistering and will result in whiplash. 8/10Meaning "If you want peace, prepare for war" the latest record from grungy rockers Seether is their most politically charged record, coming a few years after 2017's Poison The Parish their eighth album rallies against the current craziness in the worlds political systems (mainly the USA & UK). Seether have always had a similar ethos to their music, some may even say that they have basically been releasing the same album since 2002! Dirgy Nirvana inspired grunge rock with a lot of "Oh It Hurts" lyrics from frontman Shaun Morgan. This can be read as negative and maybe it is partly, but when you have four Platinum albums, one Gold album, 15 #1 singles and numerous worldwide tours this style of music must have an audience. Recorded in Nashville, this record is the first to feature new guitarist Corey Lowery but all he does is play the same recycled riffs that Seether have been making their name with for their length career (Beg). If I'm honest I struggled with this record as I have with much of Seether's discography, they have the same kind of mass appeal that say Nickelback do, with songs like Bruised And Bloodied, big ballad Buried In The Sand and the moody first single Dangerous. But unlike the Canadians Seether have always seemed a lot less fun. Musically talented yes, but too angsty for me to get into properly. If I want misery I'll listen to doom, still I'm sure this will sell bucketloads. 5/10
The Atomic Bitchwax: Scorpio (Tee Pee Recordings)
Since 1992 The Atomic Bitchwax have been cranking out the stoner riffage, going as far as releasing an album called The Local Fuzz that was one 42-minute track of 50 riffs back to back. So yes this is pretty much the epitome of riff worship, but then what would you expect from a band featuring members of Monster Magnet (and Raging Slab). The trio are now on their eighth studio album and again there are just riffs galore from the first moment Ninja goes off on one while the title track brings some Detroit-like garage rocking trapped in the 60's. Those 70's rock influences are at play throughout and vocally Chris Kosnik sounds a lot like Dave Grohl, but musically The Atomic Bitchwax sound a lot tougher than the Foos, channelling those Monster Magnet grooves into much more straightforward driving rock sound, with the instrumental Crash really smashing that home. Scorpio has another bucket full of riffage ready for you to play as loud as you can. 7/10
From The Depth: Moments (Rockshots Records)
Not to be associated with the South Wales metalcore band of the similar name, this From The Depth are an Italian power metal band, founded in 2008 they have supported Rhapsody Of Fire on tour and that's the kind of heavy metal style you get hear, it's grandiose, over the top and gets your fist in the air from the kick off. This album has had somewhat of a long digestion period with numerous line-up changes since their debut in 2011! But there is a lot of great power metal music here very much in the Italian/European power metal style of Rhapsody, DGM and Labyrinth, in fact the record was produced by DGM's virtuoso axe man Simone Mularoni along with guest appearances from Labyrinth's Roberto Tiranti and Giacomo Voli of Rhapsody Of Fire.
Now when I say Italian/European style I mean they blend the galloping hooks of power metal with some proggy flourishes (on the cracking Just Ice) and lots of technicality, with some fancy guitar playing from Gianpiero Milione and Simone Martinelli who shift between speedy runs and acoustic interludes such as at the end of Ten Years which is a cinematic leading into the chunky Streets Of Memory. However the Forget And Survive is probably one of the best tracks here, a rollicking metal track with the galloping rhythm section of Christiano Battini (drums) and Santo Clemenzi (bass) going all out as Raffaele Albanese unleashes his powerful range. Moments is certainly worth the wait an with a remixed/remastered version of their debut coming for it's 10 year anniversary next year it could be time for From The Depth to arise into the wider metal arena. 7/10