Hate – Rugia (Metal Blade Records)
The Record Company – Play Loud (Concord)
On third studio album Play Loud, garage/blues rockers The Record Company, have broadened their musical focus a little bringing in a few surprises that long term fans may not be expecting. However these come a little later as opener Never Leave You, is a grooving modern blues rocker that echoes The Record Company’s past along with bands such as The Black Keys, Alex Stiff’s slithering bass and Marc Cazorla’s driving kick drum/percussion adding a funky flair to the opener which is radio fodder definitely. The Black Keys influences continue on How High which is still true to The Record Company’s previous efforts full of grooving basslines and rhythms as Chris Vos’ choppy guitar and howling blues vocals, will get you shaking in your seat.
Polish black/death destroyers Hate, return to once again lay waste to any structures you will put any near the stereo you’ll play this on. Extreme metal doesn’t quite get as direct and vicious as Hate and once again they have managed to contain their violence for 10 tracks that assault you from the first few chainsaw-like riffs. Rugia is their twelfth full length album and it sees Hate still not mellowing in the slightest, but as with all of their works adding enough differences to create another record that stands alone to the previous eleven. Part of this is due to the addition of drummer Nar-Sil who replaces Pavulon due to health issues, band leader ATF Sinner says that he plays much differently so the band had to write for that meaning that there is a whole host of fresh ideas on this record but nothing that will take you out of Hate’s rage inducing moshfests.
As with most 2021 albums the tracks were written during the pandemic due to lack of touring meaning that Sinner could get most of the tracks written with Nar-Sil ready for lead guitarist Domin and bassist Tiermes to work on collaboratively meaning that this album is possibly one of the most raw and intense yet, bringing more from death bands like Decapitated than from the black metal style, though they retain gothic sounding atmospherics that almost link the tracks with some chants and pagan influences that sound like Enslaved, Obscured or Unleashed. These elements also present in the albums lyrics, which are centred on Slavic history and mythology, it’s partly because of this that Sinner has a much more expressive vocals style on this record than on any previous, they are of course still harsh but almost inhabit different characters depending on the nature of the song.
The pace of these tracks is pretty relentless just as soon as the industrial title track finishes, you’re diving straight into the crushing Exiles Of Pantheon which is moody and poised but with some furious drumming. Then as Awakening The Gods Within grinds, it’s only moments before the first real pace change on Velesian Guard. Rugia is another excellent entry into Hate’s album runs. Celebrating 30 years of aggression, there is much more here to love than to hate, if you love extreme music! 8/10
On third studio album Play Loud, garage/blues rockers The Record Company, have broadened their musical focus a little bringing in a few surprises that long term fans may not be expecting. However these come a little later as opener Never Leave You, is a grooving modern blues rocker that echoes The Record Company’s past along with bands such as The Black Keys, Alex Stiff’s slithering bass and Marc Cazorla’s driving kick drum/percussion adding a funky flair to the opener which is radio fodder definitely. The Black Keys influences continue on How High which is still true to The Record Company’s previous efforts full of grooving basslines and rhythms as Chris Vos’ choppy guitar and howling blues vocals, will get you shaking in your seat.
What is obvious is that the sonics are fleshed out a little, there’s a lot of backing synths and also harmony vocals, most of which come due to their collaboration with Grammy winning producer Dave Sardy as they shift away from the in-house recording/producing of their last two albums. This different creative atmosphere has allowed them to experiment with some hip-hop stylings on Gotta Be Moving, a track that is very Gary Clark Jr meets Queens Of The Stone Age, they have also written with some outside songwriters for this record which explains why there’s a shift in styles for tracks that will appeal to the masses. That being said this trio haven’t lost their identity on Play Loud, they are just moving into a style that will amass them a wider following than just the hardcore R&B/Blues/rockers they have appealed to before.
For example Live As One has that shoulder swinging vibe of the Madchester scene that created Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses and Oasis, psychedelic swathes in the bass and keys, open guitar chords and lots of percussion are what’s on offer, taking things further away from the first two albums. Their intentions are made clear on the title of the record as these tracks are meant to be played at volume so those rhythms can resonate through your speakers and into your soul. A sonic gamble that has paid off, heed their advice and Play Loud. 7/10
Vildhjarta - Måsstaden Under Vatten (Century Media Music)
Consisting of Vilhem Bladin (vocals) Daniel Bergrstrom (guitars) Calle Thomer (guitars) and Buster Odeholm (drums), formed in 2005 this album has been 10 years in the making and is a follow up to their last full length release Måsstaden. Where as that album hinted at the what the Swedish band could do, this one is a steamrolling 17 track monster that firmly places Vildhjarta up there with fellow Swedes Meshuggah. Every track has massive djent riffage, concrete cracking grooves and it's about as progressive as it gets, this mysterious foursome used messageboards to get their initial recordings out there generating buzz before releasing their debut. Here they have relied on anticipation, with such a long gap between albums, many forgiven believing that one may never arrive, the band have come back with over an hour of music. Unfortunately, unless you're a colossal djent fan then Måsstaden Under Vatten may fall a little on deaf ears, as it did with me. I understand the virtuosity behind it, I really do but after about 45 minutes, the sheer heaviness of everything made it all just a bit too overwhelming to be overly enjoyable. I'm sure if you've been waiting for it you'll love it but not for me. 5/10
Redscale - The Old Colossus (Majestic Mountain Records)
Vildhjarta - Måsstaden Under Vatten (Century Media Music)
Consisting of Vilhem Bladin (vocals) Daniel Bergrstrom (guitars) Calle Thomer (guitars) and Buster Odeholm (drums), formed in 2005 this album has been 10 years in the making and is a follow up to their last full length release Måsstaden. Where as that album hinted at the what the Swedish band could do, this one is a steamrolling 17 track monster that firmly places Vildhjarta up there with fellow Swedes Meshuggah. Every track has massive djent riffage, concrete cracking grooves and it's about as progressive as it gets, this mysterious foursome used messageboards to get their initial recordings out there generating buzz before releasing their debut. Here they have relied on anticipation, with such a long gap between albums, many forgiven believing that one may never arrive, the band have come back with over an hour of music. Unfortunately, unless you're a colossal djent fan then Måsstaden Under Vatten may fall a little on deaf ears, as it did with me. I understand the virtuosity behind it, I really do but after about 45 minutes, the sheer heaviness of everything made it all just a bit too overwhelming to be overly enjoyable. I'm sure if you've been waiting for it you'll love it but not for me. 5/10
Redscale - The Old Colossus (Majestic Mountain Records)
When I pressed play on Redscale’s The Old Colossus, I had to double check the membership as, the singer of this German band sounds uncannily like Clutch’s Neil Fallon. Henning Claußen has got the same burly vocal style as the Clutch frontman, shifting from soulful to frenzy on a whim, while he also takes his share of the riffs on the guitars. The band behind him Christian Reuter (guitars), Grant Price (bass) and Martin Stabler (drums) and the four piece crank out meaty stoner rocking straight from the first song. Their style of stoner is also similar to that of Clutch, direct and forceful with some fuzzing distortion and pace, though they also often shift their focus skywards into some desert rock jams.
Hailing from Berlin the band have two full lengths and an EP to their name before this record but The Old Colossus feels like it could be Redscale at their absolute best, the songs here are all sculpted for maximum power, giving you the feeling that Redscale could be pretty incendiary live, as the faster offerings such as On The Run and It’s A Death Cult, Baby blast away with muscle, the title track crawls with a psych doom drag as Hard To Believe and Wall Of Bricks are both big riffing mid-pace rockers. The album sounds huge from both the compositions and production making for a great listening experience. Ballsy, thunderous stoner metal/rock The Old Colossus is a serious slab of stoner, from these Berlin based bruisers. Turn it up and bang your head. 8/10