Atrocity - Okkult III (Massacre Records) [David G]
Atrocity have a bit of a wayward history, one of the earlier German death metal bands they released some classic albums including Todessehnsucht (which even lent its name to a book on the history of German Death Metal). The band has also had the “difficult” middle period where they dabbled with pop covers, industrial, and godawful album artwork featuring glossy pictures of scantily clad women. Since dabbling with alternative sounds, as long-standing bands are often wont to do, they’ve re-entered the death metal sphere, the culmination of which is this, their third entry in the Okkult series. I came into this with a large degree of scepticism, having last heard the band via their rather poor industrial chugfest Gemini.
To start, there are still fairly juvenile components to Okkult III. Lyrically it is pretty asinine, Born To Kill’s urging to “put your hands on the trigger” induces some degree of cringe, as does Malicious Sukkubus’ eyeroll-worthy growls about soul raping. Heavy sigh indeed. What I didn’t expect was the rather catchy, groove-laden music. The aforementioned Born To Kill feels like a rather successful blend of euro death metal with a thrashy groove, it stomps along in impetuous fashion with a bro-metal lilt that feels designed to be mosh-friendly.
Cypka also sees a thrash influence racing along with furious double bass drumming and precision riffs, the Slayer-ish squealing solo tops it off, definitely a highlight of the album. The driving riff of Malicious Sukkubus even has a bit of a Coroner tone which I certainly appreciated. The album can be a bit one-note as it largely follows this groovy/thrashy death metal formula, however the delivery has a conviction and vigor that holds throughout. Curiously the band decided to include in the release a second set of tracks that are simply instrumental versions of the album’s songs. Removed of the vocals the music continues to feel very strong, in particular Lycanthropia’s death metal churn is quite remarkable without the growls dominating the track.
I’m pleasantly surprised by what Atrocity are offering here, it’s not the most brutal thing you’ll hear in the death metal sphere, or even the deepest experience, however Okkult III is a rather enjoyable collection. Fair play to the band for producing something that sounds this modern and fresh. 8/10
Mask Of Prospero - Hiraeth (ViciSolum Productions) [Matt Bladen]
Hiraeth is a Welsh word that invokes a sense of longing and homesickness mixed with loss. It is in effect all about a yearning. Probably a feeling that many of us now have due to the ongoing separation between people caused in part by the pandemic but also political divisions and the increased use of social and digital media. Hiraeth as a phrase speaks to the nature of the Welsh much like schadenfreude does to the nature of the Germans. So what is a band from Athens doing using it as an album title? Well as a Welshman married to a Greek woman that sense of yearning for the past is prevalent across both cultures, that feeling of being 'home' as soon as you touch ground with the country of your birth, as well as connection between all the people in your local community which lends itself to the increasing feeling of disconnecting while away.
So there is crossover between the two cultures, but Mask Of Prospero take things further with additions of the mother deity in their artwork and the overall need to have freedom. It's all very esoteric, brought through music that blasts out of the speakers with some very modern prog metal, duality of vocals, electronic, pop-tinged atmospheres and chugging, pit worthy riffs and breakdowns. The follow up to the 2018 debut The Observatory, they have widened their djent/prog metalcore sound adding more cinematic dimension while getting moodier and heavier. As Divided gets us going with punishing palm muted riffs from Panos Kottaras & Nick Letsios, the rhythm is classic stop start modern metalcore, with flashes of melodic leads, Chris Kontoulis' vocals screamed and crooned, slipping between the two brilliantly.
Hourglass continues with their loud/soft dynamics Aggelos Malisovas' bass grooving away between the quieter moments, the soaring choruses and the breakdowns, all the time the pace and power delivered by drummer Andreas Kalogeras. Slowing it all down for In Exile which brings to mind BMTH and others, as does the progressive Lethe, the emotional catharsis present on these songs, running through the rest of the album including the ambient, synthy Amal as Lament brings the beatdowns back as Kyma is based just around some theatrical pianos and Chris' scarred vocals. Hiraeth is an album that uses its melancholia well, filtering it through modern metalcore to great effect. 8/10
Electric Mob - 2 Make U Cry & Dance (Frontiers Music Srl) [Matt Bladen]
Despite the awful album title (-_-) Brazilian rockers Electric Mob have been whipping up support for their bluesy hard rock since their 2020 debut album Discharge and there seems to be no stopping them. With a lot of Whitesnake, Tesla and Dokken in their sound they derive their overall feel from 70's/80's/90's rock bands, who play that bluesier/melodic style of rock.
Electric Mob - 2 Make U Cry & Dance (Frontiers Music Srl) [Matt Bladen]
Despite the awful album title (-_-) Brazilian rockers Electric Mob have been whipping up support for their bluesy hard rock since their 2020 debut album Discharge and there seems to be no stopping them. With a lot of Whitesnake, Tesla and Dokken in their sound they derive their overall feel from 70's/80's/90's rock bands, who play that bluesier/melodic style of rock.
With Renan Zota's brilliant vocals right at the front of all their songs, Electric Mob have a star who can ably handle ballsy rockers and emotional ballads, though there aren't as many of those on this record like many of their labelmates. They keep the pace brisk and try to pack as many choruses into their songs as possible, those vocals of Zota's are extremely impressive, gritty but soulful but you can't talk down the impact of Ben Hur Auwarter (guitar), Yuri Elero (bass) and André Leister (drums), they make up the rest of the band and all link togther perfectly, banging out the hard rock riffs.
Despite being quite a new band they are really at the top of their game, having a sound of experienced rockers, from the riffy opener Sun Is Falling Down, to the Celtic flourishes on Will Shine and the massive chorus of It's Gonna Hurt, just their first three songs tell you what Electric Mob do as band, flirty, filthy, slithering rock with arena ready hooks. As the album progresses, they even experiment with a bit of Mr Big on 4 Letters and Extreme on Saddest Funk Ever, to expand their repertoire so to speak. 2 Make U Cry & Dance is a hard rock album that draws from the best and delivers something very classy of it's own. 8/10
Conjureth - The Parasitic Chambers (Self Released) [David G]
This is American death metallers Conjureth second album, and for fans of straight up aggressive death metal it is probably a very welcome release though I have to say, I struggle with it.
Smothering Psalms starts as the band mostly seem to go on. It’s a vicious example of the style or sure, and full of twists and turns with the band rarely resting on a particular section of the track for too long. What instantly caught the ear was the drumming, in particular the cymbal play with lots of the flourishes and fills amongst the general blasting battery. It’s certainly impressive in just how relentless the approach is, but feels a bit formless almost as if there are so many riff ideas crammed in, none of which encourage a catching of breath.
Dimensional Ascendancy likewise, doesn’t let up. Racing from start to finish with brutal accuracy even the vocals are delivered in a manner that could best be described as breathless with lines practically overlapping each other as they burst out of the speakers. There are some nice moments in here though, the ascending and descending tremolo picked riff sounding manic and convulsive, and the short solo lurks in the mix, notes falling out in rapid succession with a curiously dry but effective tone.
The only relent comes with the final track, The Unworshipped II. The lazy stop-start lolling around of bass and drum leading into an equally ponderous guitar part. A weird about-face from the preceding tracks it stumbles along, all instruments in unison punctuating each painful beat in slothful grime. The solo feels achingly poignant, almost sentimental in comparison to what comes before, and captures the ear quite nicely.
As mentioned, this is probably manna from hell for people that really want the head-caving labyrinthine approach to their music. In moments I can see the appeal, certain sections jump out thanks to a crafty riff or that fantastic drum work. In the end it leaves me a bit feeling lost and not having much to grab a hold of, which is a shame because some of what the band does is quite impressive. 4/10