Devangelic - Xul (Willowtip Records) [Charlie Rogers]
Italian brutal death powerhouse Devangelic return with their forth full length album, which draws inspiration from ancient Mesopotamian mythology - as opposed to the Firefox interface language that shares the same name. There’s something to be said about wearing your musical influences on your sleeves, and it’s quite clear that Devangelic are fans of a certain Egyptian themed band based in the states. With Xul giving off strong Annihilation Of The Wicked vibes, it’s fantastic to see more bands capable of delving deep into humanity’s deep mythological past, dredging up rich soundscapes and rarely heard scalic treasures, as well as the mysterious lyrical content no doubt steeped in legend from civilisation’s birth. The record is more than just Nile worship though, with Devangelic carving their own sound from the sands.
Guitarwork from Mario Di Giambattista varies from frantic technical passages, through to languishing riffs that pull on your scalp to headbang along. Paolo Chiti’s roaring vocals weave around the guitar lines like a demonic force. This is underpinned with Alessio Pacifici’s thunderous bass guitar playing, adding so much depth to the melodies that the music truly feels like it’s all an echo from deep within the earth. Marco Coghe’s blistering drumming punctuating the melodic content with furious abaddon, showcasing that he’s capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with the big names in death metal. Indeed, the whole record shares the same sentiment, from the intelligent songwriting to the outstanding production, Xul is a near flawless record.
Italian brutal death powerhouse Devangelic return with their forth full length album, which draws inspiration from ancient Mesopotamian mythology - as opposed to the Firefox interface language that shares the same name. There’s something to be said about wearing your musical influences on your sleeves, and it’s quite clear that Devangelic are fans of a certain Egyptian themed band based in the states. With Xul giving off strong Annihilation Of The Wicked vibes, it’s fantastic to see more bands capable of delving deep into humanity’s deep mythological past, dredging up rich soundscapes and rarely heard scalic treasures, as well as the mysterious lyrical content no doubt steeped in legend from civilisation’s birth. The record is more than just Nile worship though, with Devangelic carving their own sound from the sands.
Guitarwork from Mario Di Giambattista varies from frantic technical passages, through to languishing riffs that pull on your scalp to headbang along. Paolo Chiti’s roaring vocals weave around the guitar lines like a demonic force. This is underpinned with Alessio Pacifici’s thunderous bass guitar playing, adding so much depth to the melodies that the music truly feels like it’s all an echo from deep within the earth. Marco Coghe’s blistering drumming punctuating the melodic content with furious abaddon, showcasing that he’s capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with the big names in death metal. Indeed, the whole record shares the same sentiment, from the intelligent songwriting to the outstanding production, Xul is a near flawless record.
Highlights for me are Shadows Of The Iniquitous, Worship The Black Flames, and the previously released single Udug-Hul Incantation, though all the tracks are killer in their own right, and the pace only letting up for 2 lighter tracks that help build atmosphere. Devangelic deserve to be a household name with this record, and you’re doing yourself a disservice if you don’t give it a couple of listens. 10/10
Lucifer’s Fall - Children Of The Night (Morbid & Miserable Records) [Rich Piva]
The Australian satanic doom metal band Lucifer’s Fall are no more, leaving us with their swan song EP, Children Of The Night. Throughout their decade long life as a band, the four piece delivered dark and heavy slabs of evil doom influenced by all of the usual suspects, but with a bit of a fuzzy, scummy twist on their output. Children Of The Night is a fitting way to throw the final pile of dirt on the band.
You get four new tracks and one re-recorded track, with the best of the new ones being the title track. Evil doomy goodness paired with NWOBHM vibes and all the Satanic panic you can handle. The singing but with a whisky coated vocals are upfront and center on this track and the guitar work is as good as anything they have put out before. They are not breaking any new ground or growing here, but this is a nice addition to their history. Doom In The Grave is heavy Sabbath worship with a nice riff and a slumbering, menacing pace that will keep fans of the band pleased, if Lucifer’s Fall fans have the ability to smile.
Lucifer’s Fall - Children Of The Night (Morbid & Miserable Records) [Rich Piva]
The Australian satanic doom metal band Lucifer’s Fall are no more, leaving us with their swan song EP, Children Of The Night. Throughout their decade long life as a band, the four piece delivered dark and heavy slabs of evil doom influenced by all of the usual suspects, but with a bit of a fuzzy, scummy twist on their output. Children Of The Night is a fitting way to throw the final pile of dirt on the band.
You get four new tracks and one re-recorded track, with the best of the new ones being the title track. Evil doomy goodness paired with NWOBHM vibes and all the Satanic panic you can handle. The singing but with a whisky coated vocals are upfront and center on this track and the guitar work is as good as anything they have put out before. They are not breaking any new ground or growing here, but this is a nice addition to their history. Doom In The Grave is heavy Sabbath worship with a nice riff and a slumbering, menacing pace that will keep fans of the band pleased, if Lucifer’s Fall fans have the ability to smile.
For me it drags a bit, but that goes away with the dirty punk track Fight With The Beast, which is like Venom and Motorhead rolled into one. This is the best track on the EP. Judgement Day is a cool track with more of that Venom stuff and is less doom and more NWOBHM. The re-recording of their namesake track is a cleaner version of the original, with it’s slow Iommi worshiping riff and is a nice way to tie the band’s career up, going back to the beginning where it all started.
I am sure fans of Lucifer’s Fall are sad to see the band retire, but the players all have upcoming projects that they will continue to spread their doomy message from, but for now Children Of The Night will have to make due as the eulogy for another doom band off to meet their dark lord maker. These are five tracks that are a fitting end and are enjoyable if you like the scuzzier doom stuff. RIP children of the beast. 7/10
Ad Infinitum - Chapter III: Downfall (Napalm Records)[Richard Oliver]
I’d become aware of Melissa Bonny from her guest vocals with bands such as Kamelot and Warkings and whilst I knew she had her own bands and projects I have never, until recently, got around to checking them out. Ad Infinitum was formed in Switzerland in 2018 and have a total of four albums to their name with Chapter III: Downfall being the latest instalment.
For those who haven’t heard Ad Infinitum they are a symphonic metal band who have a very straightforward, hook-laden and almost pop music approach to the genre. The symphonics work well within the context of the songs, very rarely becoming epic or overblown with the emphasis being on the vocal melodies and hooks. Melissa Bonny’s vocals dominate throughout which is understandable considering she has an incredible range from gorgeous cleans to ferocious harsh vocals. The harsh vocals don’t pop up in every song making them all the more effective when they do. Those hooks are the main weapon in Ad Infinitum’s arsenal with songs such as Eternal Rains, From The Ashes and Legends doing all they can to bore their way into your subconscious.
Ad Infinitum have had differentiations between all of their albums with Chapter I: Monarchy being a more power metal influenced release which was followed by an acoustic reinterpretation of that album in Chapter I Revisited. These were then followed by Chapter II: Legacy which saw a streamlining of the bands sound with the greater emphasis on hooks and pop melodies. Now with Chapter III: Downfall there is the inclusion of influences from djent and metalcore especially in the heavily downtuned guitars and the odd use of breakdowns mixed in with the hooks and poppy melodies.
I am sure fans of Lucifer’s Fall are sad to see the band retire, but the players all have upcoming projects that they will continue to spread their doomy message from, but for now Children Of The Night will have to make due as the eulogy for another doom band off to meet their dark lord maker. These are five tracks that are a fitting end and are enjoyable if you like the scuzzier doom stuff. RIP children of the beast. 7/10
Ad Infinitum - Chapter III: Downfall (Napalm Records)[Richard Oliver]
I’d become aware of Melissa Bonny from her guest vocals with bands such as Kamelot and Warkings and whilst I knew she had her own bands and projects I have never, until recently, got around to checking them out. Ad Infinitum was formed in Switzerland in 2018 and have a total of four albums to their name with Chapter III: Downfall being the latest instalment.
For those who haven’t heard Ad Infinitum they are a symphonic metal band who have a very straightforward, hook-laden and almost pop music approach to the genre. The symphonics work well within the context of the songs, very rarely becoming epic or overblown with the emphasis being on the vocal melodies and hooks. Melissa Bonny’s vocals dominate throughout which is understandable considering she has an incredible range from gorgeous cleans to ferocious harsh vocals. The harsh vocals don’t pop up in every song making them all the more effective when they do. Those hooks are the main weapon in Ad Infinitum’s arsenal with songs such as Eternal Rains, From The Ashes and Legends doing all they can to bore their way into your subconscious.
Ad Infinitum have had differentiations between all of their albums with Chapter I: Monarchy being a more power metal influenced release which was followed by an acoustic reinterpretation of that album in Chapter I Revisited. These were then followed by Chapter II: Legacy which saw a streamlining of the bands sound with the greater emphasis on hooks and pop melodies. Now with Chapter III: Downfall there is the inclusion of influences from djent and metalcore especially in the heavily downtuned guitars and the odd use of breakdowns mixed in with the hooks and poppy melodies.
With myself not being a fan of djent and metalcore, I found these elements a bit jarring and distracting. I think where this album falls short as well is the lack of grandiosity. The epic orchestrations are one of the elements of symphonic metal I love and this streamlined approach means that the music doesn’t quite have the breadth and scale with a lot of the songs following a similar structure and style with little to differentiate between them.
When it comes to straightforward hook-laden pop metal, Ad Infinitum are at the top of their game and will definitely appeal to anyone looking for some catchy melodic metal tunes but if you are looking for something a bit more ambitious and epic sounding then Chapter III: Downfall will fall short. 6/10
Heretic Plague - Context Is A Stumbling Block (Selfmadegod Records) [GC]
This week my first review is UK based death/grind duo Heretic Plague and this is their debut album Context Is A Stumbling Block which is being released on the selfmadegod label. On first look I am a bit dubious as only 1 track is under 2 minutes so it may be more grind than death but there’s only one way to find out.
First out of the blocks is (chopping blocks) is Bleeding Stump Marathon and the first thing you notice is just how programmed the drums sound and everything else, barring the vocals which are suitably disgusting just doesn't sound raw enough its all very clean and crisp sounding and kind of sounds like all the parts of songs have been pieced together on a PC, which is fine obviously but it just seems to clunky for my liking.
Heretic Plague - Context Is A Stumbling Block (Selfmadegod Records) [GC]
This week my first review is UK based death/grind duo Heretic Plague and this is their debut album Context Is A Stumbling Block which is being released on the selfmadegod label. On first look I am a bit dubious as only 1 track is under 2 minutes so it may be more grind than death but there’s only one way to find out.
First out of the blocks is (chopping blocks) is Bleeding Stump Marathon and the first thing you notice is just how programmed the drums sound and everything else, barring the vocals which are suitably disgusting just doesn't sound raw enough its all very clean and crisp sounding and kind of sounds like all the parts of songs have been pieced together on a PC, which is fine obviously but it just seems to clunky for my liking.
All Eyes On The Grave does fare slightly better in the construction side of the song but I seriously can’t get past the drum programming it seems to be the centre of everything and makes for an unsatisfying experience and I already feel like these songs should 100% be shorter than they are as they don’t really get better as the minutes build up, onto the first actual grind song on the album and Skull Crawler yeah, it’s fast and has the right rhythm but I can’t make any actual guitar parts out.
I know they are there but the vocals and ‘’drums’’ completely drown everything else out and not in a positive way, following on with more of the death metal side of their sound the albums title track does now have the required guitar cutting through and when it does the actual riffs you can hear are suitably sharp and but also sufficiently sludgey enough to mix in some early 90’ death metal influences and the grind sections here are again decent enough but nothing seems to be blowing me away here?
Bloated, Fly-Bitten. Dead definitely comes on with more of the early 90’s Florida vibes on the death metal side and does find a good balance with the grind intertwining nicely throughout and it seems that the drums have finally been mixed down slightly which really finally allows everything else to be heard BUT, it slows down too much towards the end and just ends with a whimper and not a bang.
Briefcase Full Of Cutlery once finally seems to get the mix of death metal with grind parts spot on and all the levels seem to have been worked out as well and this is probably the best song on offer her BUT they insist on putting in a load of samples which really do nothing to elevate the song and just annoy me! Pentangle Of Broken Teeth seems to me to have the most basic rhythm and structure but also manages to sound like a complete mess in places which is a shame because there could have been a good track in there with a bit more though and direction.
Briefcase Full Of Cutlery once finally seems to get the mix of death metal with grind parts spot on and all the levels seem to have been worked out as well and this is probably the best song on offer her BUT they insist on putting in a load of samples which really do nothing to elevate the song and just annoy me! Pentangle Of Broken Teeth seems to me to have the most basic rhythm and structure but also manages to sound like a complete mess in places which is a shame because there could have been a good track in there with a bit more though and direction.
Ubiquitous Gore is another a solid enough death metal track and shows that when they get it right they are capable of some good stuff but most of it seems to be a bit rushed and messy, finally Grandpa’s Hammer rounds everything off with in a noisy grinding fashion and once again the mix of everything here is done really well and its just a shame the rest of the album didn’t sound like this.
Did I hate this album? No, did I like this album? Also no, was it ok? Yes and that kind of sums it up for me, it was just ok? I wouldn’t go around recommending it but I also wouldn’t savage it and tell people not to listen to it. To me it’s a bit too messy and not precise enough to really make its mark. I’m sure they can and will do better in the future but for now this was just a bit of a let-down. 5/10
Did I hate this album? No, did I like this album? Also no, was it ok? Yes and that kind of sums it up for me, it was just ok? I wouldn’t go around recommending it but I also wouldn’t savage it and tell people not to listen to it. To me it’s a bit too messy and not precise enough to really make its mark. I’m sure they can and will do better in the future but for now this was just a bit of a let-down. 5/10