Dying Wish - Fragments Of A Bitter Memory (Sharptone Records) [Alex Swift]
While extreme metal in large part, has never been my forte as a writer, the spawning of many acts fusing metalcore with elements of industrial and black metal has been an intriguing movement. Acts in the vein of Venom Prison and Employed To Serve fuse their aggression with a sense of melodic cohesion and memorability that makes for an engaging if intense listen. The latest addition to this canon of bands is Dying Wish – through strong riff crafting underpinned by Pedro Carrillo and Sam Reynolds, a sense of how to command tempo to brilliant effect aided by Andrew Le on bass and Jeff Yambra on drums, and blood curdling screams courtesy of Emma Boster, the act are a brilliant addition to the roster of melodic hardcore acts that have emerged in recent years. Cowards Feed, Cowards Bleed and Hallowed By Affliction open the record on a pulverizing note – these will throw down the gauntlet for whether you will enjoy the record or not.
While extreme metal in large part, has never been my forte as a writer, the spawning of many acts fusing metalcore with elements of industrial and black metal has been an intriguing movement. Acts in the vein of Venom Prison and Employed To Serve fuse their aggression with a sense of melodic cohesion and memorability that makes for an engaging if intense listen. The latest addition to this canon of bands is Dying Wish – through strong riff crafting underpinned by Pedro Carrillo and Sam Reynolds, a sense of how to command tempo to brilliant effect aided by Andrew Le on bass and Jeff Yambra on drums, and blood curdling screams courtesy of Emma Boster, the act are a brilliant addition to the roster of melodic hardcore acts that have emerged in recent years. Cowards Feed, Cowards Bleed and Hallowed By Affliction open the record on a pulverizing note – these will throw down the gauntlet for whether you will enjoy the record or not.
Do you like distortion-fuelled metal underpinned with tremolo-style picking followed by guttural breakdowns and given life by breakneck pace? Well, you’ll probably love this! That’s not to say these musicians don’t bring a sense of emotionality to their sound. The brutal moments are often contrasted vividly with melancholic moments of ambiance or lead work. Poignantly, Severing The Senses and Fragments Of A Bitter Memory contain sweeping melodic sections. This contrast of light and shade might be something that’s been done many times before in metalcore and the adjacent genres, but when the music is still this invigorating, bemoaning the lack of originality feels needless. Providing cause for their anger is the myriad of social and introspective themes Dying Wish turn their attention to on this album.
The band state their mission statement as being to ‘align themselves with the continuing battle for liberation…they make music aimed at unity but without compromise. Abolition, revolution, and liberation, in spirit and song’. Many moments throughout this album deal with Boster’s experience of abuse, with lines like “I would bury you if I could” proving just as devastating as the sonic elements of this band. Moments such as Until Mourning Comes bravely confront sensations of grief and loss, while other like the electrifying Blood Laced Misery take aim at imperialism and bigotry, with an unflinching sense of conviction. Although Dying Wish are far from the first act to perfect this sound, perfect it they do.
It takes one set of skills to ape your influences and another to make a record which cuts through the chaos and makes an impression, especially for a small band with little prior success. Musically, the album is seething and impressionistic, while bearing a message of courage in times of darkness. Without a doubt, anyone who has even a slight interest in this genre should be focussing all their attention to these musicians, as they certainly commanded mine. 8/10
Crystal Spiders - Morieris (Ripple Music) [Rich Oliver]
The fuzz is strong with this album. Morieris is the second album from Raleigh stoner doom band Crystal Spiders who are a two piece made up of Brenna Leath on bass and vocals and Tradd Yancey on drums and backing vocals with producer Mike Dean (of Corrosion Of Conformity fame) assisting on guitars. Morieris is exactly the sort of fuzzed out stoner doom you would expect full of fat grooves, big riffs, bluesy atmosphere and plenty of weed smoke but this is done with such style that Crystal Spiders do really stand out in a heavily populated scene. The rhythms are dense, the riffs are infectious and this music is nearly damn impossible not to nod your head along to.
The fuzz is strong with this album. Morieris is the second album from Raleigh stoner doom band Crystal Spiders who are a two piece made up of Brenna Leath on bass and vocals and Tradd Yancey on drums and backing vocals with producer Mike Dean (of Corrosion Of Conformity fame) assisting on guitars. Morieris is exactly the sort of fuzzed out stoner doom you would expect full of fat grooves, big riffs, bluesy atmosphere and plenty of weed smoke but this is done with such style that Crystal Spiders do really stand out in a heavily populated scene. The rhythms are dense, the riffs are infectious and this music is nearly damn impossible not to nod your head along to.
Add in a colossal singer in Brenna Leath whose seductive croon and powerhouse vocals really add a whole dimension to these songs with stand outs such as Septix, Harness, Maelstrom and Golden Paw. Crystal Spiders got the scene buzzing with their debut album Molt last year and they are sure to do the same with Morieris as it is an absolutely killer album. This genre has its limitations but when it is done right it strikes like no other. Crystal Spiders wear their influences on their sleeves from Kyuss and Fu Manchu to Black Sabbath but their take on stoner and doom is as infectious as it comes. If you want an all you eat riff buffet then listen to this album immediately. 9/10
Malrun – Pandemonium (Prime Collective) [Simon Black]
So, album number four for the Dutch Progressive Metallers, although the first one for me. The first thing that strikes you about a band whose press release burbles about Hard and Progressive Rock is that this is an out and out METAL album. It’s heavy and brutal, with a broad mix of clean and extreme vocal styles that works really well and although there’s plenty of Progressive complexity in there, it’s also got a deep and broad streak of Modern Metal sentiment running through it like Wolverine’s adamantium skeleton. The vocals are front and centre of the mix, which tends to hide the individual instrument into a cohesive whole, but for me that works, as this feels like a real and fluid musical entity rather than a bunch of overtly technical musicians vying for the spotlight.
In fact although there’s progressive sentiment aplenty, it’s there to provide energy and tension through some quite nifty rests and tie shifts, rather than widly widly fretboard mutilation, and that’s what makes this refreshing, as let’s face it you don’t come across many Prog metal albums that reign back the solos and instrumental breaks as well as these guys do. When they are there, they don’t stand out and intrude, but remain part of the flow of the record. It’s also a record that stays dark, down tuned but furiously energetic throughout, which is let’s face it the sign of good Metal and the eleven tracks over 48 minutes positively fly by, with nothing outstaying its welcome.
Perhaps the downside is that everything is pretty much the same tone and pace throughout, but to be honest when the music flies by this effortlessly I’m not sure I care. Perhaps this change of direction is not surprising after a six year break and the arrival of vocalist Nicklas Sonne, who totally steals and commands your attention throughout, but either way this record feels more like an explosive debut of a band with a new and clear direction rather than the next step of evolution for an established act. No bad thing at all. 8/10
The debut release from this four-piece thrash outfit from Indiana, Fatal Solution is at best routine thrash metal. The intro Awakening reeks of Slayer and early Metallica, which is no bad thing I suppose. This leads neatly into Soldiers Of Peace, the first of seven tracks which bludgeon away without really igniting the spark at any point. It’s frantic, frenetic, and full of passion and yet it fails to stir any emotion, something that thrash metal really needs to do to get you involved. It’s played well enough, but TJ Gillespie’s forced vocals do nothing for me and that’s a shame as it may be the one point that makes or breaks this record.
Apart from his vocals, the songs are very much taken from the thrash metal blueprint book. It’s clear that Damage worship at the altar of Slayer, with the title track in particular strongly influenced. As much as I love thrash metal, the market is currently saturated with bands, and these days it takes something a little bit more subtle and nuanced to catch the attention. Damage clearly has some big plans. It’s going to take a bit more application and development for them to break through the large piles of flotsam that are currently floating above them. 5/10