Battlelore - Return Of The Shadow (Napalm Records) [Matt Bladen]
With 11 years since their last crusade, the Finnish purveyors of 'Tolkien Metal' return with their seventh release after their creative break after 2011's Doombound. An apt title really as the band have truly returned from the shadow, and it also serves a double meaning being the original title for Fellowship Of The Ring. Crafting these Middle Earth epics over a long period means that Return Of The Shadow is the most impressive album from Battlelore. The vocal duo of Tomi Mykkänen and Kaisa Jouhki are this bands best kept secret, Tomi with his low cleans and growls bring the dark depths of Mordor while the counter of Kaisa's soaring elven chants take us to Rivendell.
With 11 years since their last crusade, the Finnish purveyors of 'Tolkien Metal' return with their seventh release after their creative break after 2011's Doombound. An apt title really as the band have truly returned from the shadow, and it also serves a double meaning being the original title for Fellowship Of The Ring. Crafting these Middle Earth epics over a long period means that Return Of The Shadow is the most impressive album from Battlelore. The vocal duo of Tomi Mykkänen and Kaisa Jouhki are this bands best kept secret, Tomi with his low cleans and growls bring the dark depths of Mordor while the counter of Kaisa's soaring elven chants take us to Rivendell.
They are the storytellers of these songs, the lyrics inspired by one of the greatest writers ever, staying true to the source material well. Musically there's a subtle heaviness to the record beneath the twinkling synths and orchestrations from Maria Honkanen, Shadow Of The East wouldn't be as powerful without them. The guitar duo of Jyri Vahvanen and Jussi Rautio bring some harmonies to lighter tracks such as Homecoming and Elvenking and but also some gutsy riffing to True Dragons and Chambers Of Fire. I also need to mention that the bottom end of bassist Timo Honkanen and drummer Henri Vahvanen is at its best on a track such as Mirrormere where there's lots of shifting in style and time signatures.
The performances are all good on this album and it is probably the most accomplished album from Battlelore, however in those 10 years we've heard a LOT of bands doing this, so they may get a little lost in the mix. 7/10
Heart Attack – Negative Sun (Atomic Fire Records) [Matt Cook]
The promotional material ahead of Heart Attack’s release Negative Sun summed up the record by comparing the French foursome to the likes of Gojira, Machine Head and Metallica. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot right from the start. True, there are parts that display a propensity to crack skulls and scramble brains. Though this is categorically not the second coming of Ride The Lightning or Kill ‘Em All. Nothing is; those records remain in a class of their own, still the best Thrash Metal one-two punch to date (not to mention Metallica were teenagers during that time). It’s safer and saner to approach Negative Sun at face value.
Heart Attack – Negative Sun (Atomic Fire Records) [Matt Cook]
The promotional material ahead of Heart Attack’s release Negative Sun summed up the record by comparing the French foursome to the likes of Gojira, Machine Head and Metallica. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot right from the start. True, there are parts that display a propensity to crack skulls and scramble brains. Though this is categorically not the second coming of Ride The Lightning or Kill ‘Em All. Nothing is; those records remain in a class of their own, still the best Thrash Metal one-two punch to date (not to mention Metallica were teenagers during that time). It’s safer and saner to approach Negative Sun at face value.
Exceptional death metal thrives on septic melody and especially so on World Consumption, an appropriate display of Kevin Geyer’s brutally charming vocals. That sentiment is further echoed by chugs, screams and succulent grunts (Wings Of Judgement). Chris Cesari introduces a nifty melodic influence on The Messenger, a slower but still gnarly slog. Heart Attack flex their versatile muscles with Rituals, a two-minute escapade populated by a bevy of different styles of metal that aptly provides a taste for what’s to come. Again though, this is not The Four Horsemen-caliber the P.R. department prudishly claims it to be. A more rational label is Negative Sun exhibits hard-hitting, calamitously-chugging, abrasive death metal. That alone should be sufficient, because this group is certainly talented. 7/10
Temple Of Void - Summoning The Slayer (Relapse Records) [Matt Bladen]
Beefier than a Sunday roast, Detroit band Temple Of Void, have all the grunt of a Detroit Diesel Engine and are probably dirtier too. Their death doom comes on an epic scale, the moody atmospheric strings augmenting the heaviness of songs like Deathtouch. In fact this fourth album seems to be much more accessible than previous Temple Of Void records, that's not saying it's not heavier than a blue whale dipped in concrete as the chugging dissonance of Engulfed, reminds you of those early Temple Of Void albums, but as it shifts into a denser melodic part towards the end this newly discovered lighter touch works wonders for the dynamics.
Beefier than a Sunday roast, Detroit band Temple Of Void, have all the grunt of a Detroit Diesel Engine and are probably dirtier too. Their death doom comes on an epic scale, the moody atmospheric strings augmenting the heaviness of songs like Deathtouch. In fact this fourth album seems to be much more accessible than previous Temple Of Void records, that's not saying it's not heavier than a blue whale dipped in concrete as the chugging dissonance of Engulfed, reminds you of those early Temple Of Void albums, but as it shifts into a denser melodic part towards the end this newly discovered lighter touch works wonders for the dynamics.
Now there will be a huge amount of people who will now write the band off for 'selling out' by trying to court a wider audience than just death/doom fanatics, but if it pays off and the band retain their early style in some way too all the better. Summoning The Slayer feels as if Temple Of Void are trying to take up the space left by Gojira when they became more marketable, tracks like A Sequence Of Rot featuring that early Gojira repeating riff trick, Hex, Curse & Conjuration also has that stomp before shifting into a bit of punchy death. It's at the end of the album where things become the most different to anything the band have done, acoustic guitars, synths and heavily processed clean vocals bring some Planet Caravan vibes.
I hadn't spent a huge amount of time with Temple Of Void but I must say I do prefer their heavier early sound. I understand why they've moved in this direction though, happily they haven't abandoned the heavy all together just refined it a bit more. 7/10
Severe Torture – Fisting The Sockets (Season Of Mist) [Matt Cook]
The purpose of releasing an EP (at least according to logic) should be to pack as much as you can into a marketable amount of time that is easily consumed by diehards and newcomers alike, a veritable circum vitae in which to succor a longer effort in the near future. But if said EP contains three tracks of indistinguishable drivel, well, that’s extremely counterintuitive, to say the very least. What’s even more maddening is Fisting The Sockets is the first new music from Dutch outfit Severe Torture in 12 years – TWELVE YEARS – and it’s nothing more than a trio of songs lacking any character or individuality. Musically, it’s a 14-minute joy ride, but even those are not words I want to have to use to describe a Death Metal band.
Severe Torture – Fisting The Sockets (Season Of Mist) [Matt Cook]
The purpose of releasing an EP (at least according to logic) should be to pack as much as you can into a marketable amount of time that is easily consumed by diehards and newcomers alike, a veritable circum vitae in which to succor a longer effort in the near future. But if said EP contains three tracks of indistinguishable drivel, well, that’s extremely counterintuitive, to say the very least. What’s even more maddening is Fisting The Sockets is the first new music from Dutch outfit Severe Torture in 12 years – TWELVE YEARS – and it’s nothing more than a trio of songs lacking any character or individuality. Musically, it’s a 14-minute joy ride, but even those are not words I want to have to use to describe a Death Metal band.
We would have been better served if they pumped out another compilation record to accompany 2011’s From Blood To Carnage: 1998-2004, because this didn’t check off any boxes. And even the album title is puzzling. Fisting The Sockets? Is this meant to be a sadomasochistic-themed release that fetishizes sticking things into electrical sockets that have no business being stuck inside them? I am not kink-shaming anyone who is in to electrophilia(?). I am, however, shaming this band for making us wait over a decade only to be given a tuna sandwich, a bag of Lay’s potato chips (Walkers crisps for us Brits) and a rotting banana and being told it’s a well-balanced meal. If you’re itching for new Severe Torture content (as I most certainly was), you’ll have to wait.
Dive back into their discography of music they churned out in the 2000s. As for the 2010s (and now 2020s), the five-piece haven’t contributed anything worthwhile, and it’s tragic. This almost-post-pandemic society never has enough hatred, bile and bellicosity. But apparently this band missed the memo and was hoping to make a quick buck in lieu of actually giving the fans something delectable in which to sink their teeth. 4/10