Reviews: Possessor, Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou, No Life On Earth, Arya (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Another, heavy as a bag of anvils falling down the stairs, album from those folks at APF Records, Damn The Light is the third full length from London heavy trio Possessor. Rich gave their previous album Gravelands a healthy 8/10. That was obviously the same train of thought that got them signed to APF who know a thing about causing deafness, something which Possessor are aiming to do on Damn The Light another monolithian slab of horror-filled proto-metal that was recorded in their individual homes, the album was only rehearsed through voice messages and phone videos but again their evil brand of music has defied any earthly problems to once again conjure the power of Satan, witchcraft and demonic possession to open a hellmouth of ear shattering drums, bowel moving bass and riffs that can shatter an amp with ease. 

There seems to be a new energy here, possibly due to new drummer Nathan Perrier who locks in well with the gnarly riffage of Graham Bywater (guitar) and Ollie Isaac (bass), for 44 minutes of concise, compelling and effortlessly complicated power. What you notice first is how grimy the production sounds here, there's a naggin fuzz behind the instrumentation and yet again Graham's echoed vocals are low in the mix making the record sound dirty, one that has lain dormant for years in a basement but one that if played will unleash a curse upon all that listen to it. Rumbling ragers such as Coffin Fit and Fresh Hell, stand toe to toe with the rough and ready Take It To The Grave and the psych doom of the title track. Showing Possessor's mastery of the the more extreme end of proto-metal Damn The Light is Possessor rekindling their fire, from a safe distance and emerging from the underground with a lot of noise. 8/10   

Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou: May Our Chambers Be Full (Sacred Bones Records)

Much like the recent Molassess record I reviewed recently May Our Chambers Be Full is the first (possibly only) record from the unlikely partnership of folksy post rocker Emma Ruth Rundle and sludge metal destroyers Thou. They came together due to the input of Roadburn Festival organiser Walter Hoeijmakers as he found that both artists' share a love of each others works, and they have both featured at the festival, so then it made sense to bring them together and see what happened. So what do you get on May Our Chambers Be Full? Well both artists are seasoned musicians with a share a love of 90's grunge and it is grunge is the overarching sound on this record, yes ok with quite a bit of down-tuned crushing sludge riffs from Thou are in direct opposition to Rundle's haunting vocal lines that soar above often intercut with the violent screams from Thou's Brian Funck,

It weaves in and out ominous psychedelia on the opening Killing Floor bringing an aching reminder of Soundgarden as it crawls with slow methodical riffs into some mind bending reverb. An ominous start before Monolith takes Alice In Chains (vocals and riffs) and soups both up into something much darker, Ancestral Recall filters Smashing Pumpkins through punishing deathly doom. It's Out Of Existence manages to sound the most like both artists own work oddly, bringing their own styles to this track (and record) but it's whipping them up into a maelstrom of extremity that merges the two together. May Our Chambers Be Full is a musical indulgence that will certainly appeal to fans of both artists but as any devotees of Roadburn's expansive musical vision will know it's been created to reach further than that, embracing atmospherics on Magikal Cost as the brilliant The Valley closes out the album with some keening almost naturalistic feel to it due to the use of emotive strings. A curious, but excellent record, one with the chops to back up any ideas they want to indulge in. 8/10   

No Life On Earth: Nothing Is Real (Blood Blast)

Brazilian metal. What's the first name that comes to mind? If your answer isn't Sepultura then you either don't know much about Brazilian metal, or you're a power metal fan and said Angra. No Life On Earth are a band with American and Brazilian members are draw heavily from the thundering, progressive groove metal attack of Sepultura on Into Fire We Burn, even as going as far as getting Andreas Kisser giving the EP a solo. No Life On Earth was founded in quarantine as a collaboration between guitarist Alan Wallace of alt metal band Eminence and Jay Arriaga drummer of industrial groove band Scattered Storm. They recruited bassist PJ from pop supergroup Jota Quest and vocalist Andre Acosta from heaviests Hereafter The Wave. 

It's a four track EP of bludgeoning low end powered  which also features some guest spots from Cesar Soto (Ministry), Hector Camarena (Hereafter The Wave) & Tue Madsen. With the Sepultura influences hitting you between the eyes, The Gravity is a bit more metalcore influenced build for big breakdowns with the sound of bands such as Killswitch engage also coming through on the raging title track which also thieves some Fear Factory-esque industrial tones. The final track here is Time Is Blind keeps that aggression high right to the end. Another testament to the creativity of bands during this pandemic period, it will interesting to hear what happens with this band when they can all be in the same place. 6/10

Arya: For Ever (Self Released)

Italy is a fertile breeding ground for metal, with all genres covered, they have a veritable cavalcade of bands releasing numerous albums ever month. Arya are a band that meld extreme metal aggression with some post metal ambience. After three albums in 2018 they split up with irreconcilable personal differences cited as the reason. The two guitarists Luca Pasini and Simone Succi came together to write some more music and get the band off the ground again. Using their previous trauma' to make the most complex, dark record they ever had building on from 2019's Zero EP, For Ever is their first full length since the reformation and the band is basically Luca Pasini on guitar, bass, vocals, keyboards, programming, while Simone Succi also has guitar and the raging shouted vocals which are used in counterpoint to the wallowing maudlin voice of Virginia Bertozzi. Arya's music is complicated and expansive, some songs such as Thymian are really good but their music could be a little discordant for anyone looking for melodies. I couldn't really get into it, though I'm sure there is a market for it in the huge talent pool Italy has for musicians. 5/10