Cognizance - Upheaval (Prosthetic Records) [Paul Hutchings]
2019’s Malignant Dominion earned a reasonable 7/10 in these pages. Now bolstered by a second guitarist in the shape of Apostolis “Yage” Karydis, the band have morphed into a five-piece. Harnessing the inevitable challenges of the past 18 months (how many times do we type that?) the Leeds bruisers are now well placed to deliver their sophomore release. Upheaval is a solid record, blending brutal heavy riffs with soaring technicality. Combining previous lyrical explorations of science fiction (see the two-part Syntheticus for evidence) with the band’s own reflections on humanitarian disasters, societal shifts as well as the pandemic, there’s plenty to enjoy in the 33 minutes of explosive death metal.
Musically, it’s an aural assault but with an underpinned melody that occasionally escapes from the walls of mammoth riffing and precision drumming that is inflicted by sticksman David Diepold, who is now doing double duty after joining Germanic Tech-Deth royalty Obscura. With vocalist Henry Pryce in dominant form, Upheaval is an album that hits hard and sticks around. Changes in tempo, some searing lead breaks thanks to Karydis (Oneiric and Fever Dream) and other guitarist Alex Baillie are plentiful and impressive. The album is self-recorded and self-produced by the band, with support from the mastery of Fredrick Nordstrom who mixed and mastered the record. A man who rarely gets it wrong, he’s done a sterling job on a blistering album that shreds in explosive fashion from start to finish. 8/10
Cripta Blue - Cripta Blue (Argonauta Records) [Paul Scoble]
Italian three piece Cripta Blue have been going since 2019. The band is made up of Andrea Giuliani on Vocals and Bass, Federico Bocchini on Guitar and Silvio Dalla Valle on Drums, this self titled album is their first full length after releasing some singles. Cripta Blue play a very Rock and Roll form of Stoner Rock / Metal, huge riffs with great baritone vocals and a massive amount of swagger. The style is loose and simple, mainly Stoner Rock / Metal with a little taste of Sabbathy traditional doom, and almost perfect head nodding tempos.
The opener Mournin’ Pyre is a great example of the bands style; mid-paced Stoner Rock with deep baritone vocals that give the songs a little bit of a gothic feel, and a great strutting swagger. The chorus also has a little resemblance to The Beatles song Helter Skelter. Next up is Magikal Ride which is a mix of up tempo, driving rock and slower, slightly stilted sections. The song also features a couple of solo’s that work very well. The issues of pacing on the slower sections are only slight, it’s the sort of thing I’d expect on a debut album, it’s not a massive problem as the faster parts of the song are excellent; the plodding nature of the slow parts are quickly forgotten. Tombstone features guest vocals by Ricky Dal Pane from the band Witchwood. The track has a darker feel than the rest of the material, it’s driving and purposeful and reminds me a little of Doom legends Pentagram.
The wonderfully titled Creepy Eyes is a mix of fast and driving Stoner Rock in the chorus and slower and more minimal material that features heavy use of Wah Wah in the verse. Spectral Highway has a dark and brooding feel running through all of the song, some of which is heavy and aggressive, some of which is minimal and introspective. The song also features a great bluesy guitar solo. Death Wheelers is heavy mid-paced Doom, again there is a very good blues solo and boasts a great uptempo ending. The album comes to an end with the track A Space Tale. A Space Tale is a great piece of mid-paced Psych Rock, the track is instrumental and has many solos that in places remind me of Tony Iommi’s solos with Black Sabbath.
Cripta Blues debut is a great Stoner Doom album. There are some issues with pacing, but they are only slight, I feel like I’m being picky mentioning them, apart from that this is a very good album for a debut. The material is a great mix of sleazy Stoner Rock, and old school doom. It’s reminiscent of Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer, Cream, Pentagram, Sleep, Orange Goblin and even a little of South Wales Psych Rock ruffians Lacertilia. It’s lots and lots of fun, and will put a smile on your face. A very impressive debut, I’m already looking forward to their follow up. 7/10
Rivers Of Nihil – The Work (Metal Blade Records) [Dr Claire Hanley]
Following the critically acclaimed album Where Owls Know My Name, Rivers Of Nihil return with The Work; another dose of their distinctive brand of progressive death metal. Opening track The Tower kicks off proceedings in a very laid-back manner, with a dark and brooding tone; much enhanced by the presence of clean singing and lyrical content reflecting self-flagellation. This track also features signature hints of saxophone but, as a whole, the album sees an upgrade in sax status as it becomes a far more prominent feature in tracks such as The Void From Which No Sound Escapes, where it is used to great effect to add sonic texture.In stark contrast to the mellow introduction of the record, Dreaming Black Clockwork is a musical foot to the throat, oozing prominence and purpose with thundering drums and a guitar tone so brutal it’ll make your eyes water. Yet, clean vocals compliment the atmosphere created by the subdued midsection before merging into a chaotic, distorted ending of tortured screams. Songs such as Focus and Episode also feature real moments of attitude, possessing some seriously infectious melodies and incredible transitions, although the former does border on juvenile shouting and comes across as somewhat angsty towards the end. In a similar vein but more of a slow-burn, Clean features some standout guitar work and drum patterns, which really hook you in and hold the record together, and then there’s More. Adopting all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, this track is ferocious and holds nothing back; which left me wanting, you guessed it…more.
Sadly, the outstanding swagger is short-lived and confined to brief bursts. Tower 2 is a reprisal of the opening track, which fails to add anything beyond being a point of transition. Even at over 11 minutes long, Terrestria IV: Work fades into the background against some of the other tracks and is also, therefore, relegated to the realms of forgettable. Then we have Wait and Maybe One Day. Definitely deviations from the collective whole but certainly not in a good way. The former is offered up as psychedelic and ethereal but the stadium rock ending made me contemplate whether having functional ears was actually of benefit, as did the distinctly vanilla acoustic guitar nonsense of the latter.
With influences circling the borders of Opeth and Paradise Lost, meshed with the melancholy of Katatonia and Swallow the Sun, also venturing into Meshuggah territory with a hefty dose of guitar twang, what the band refers to as the “sound world” of this record is truly unique. However, one (wo)man’s progressive is another (wo)man’s unrelenting bewilderment. While I can appreciate what the record should represent, and no doubt will for die-hard fans; for me, it lacked the desired impact and was a real chore to listen to at times (oh the irony, given the subject matter). Some songs were an absolute vibe, with sections that imprisoned your attention, but for the most part the album meanders into the mundane.