Overkill - Scorched (Nuclear Blast) [Rich Piva]
You know how when a band that has been around forever and could be referred to as a nostalgia act by some releases a new record and people are like “wow, this is such a good album for so late in band’s x career…I am kind of shocked” then go on to never listen to it again, like ever, after that first time? You all know what I am talking about, and there have already been a few this year that fit that description, not mentioning any names, but I am sure you have a couple in mind. I figured that is what I would be getting with the 274th album (really 20th, but it feels like that number) Scorched, from New Jersey OG thrashers Overkill. But now on my fifth (and counting) listen, record number 20 is for real good, maybe great, especially given this is 2023.
Full disclosure: Overkill was one of the first really heavy “non-mainstream” bands I got into as I used to sport my Under The Influence shirt proudly to 9th grade earth science. Growing up on Long Island and liking heavy music you almost had no choice but to dig Overkill (shout out to Gabe who introduced me to the band…I hope you are still thrashing around the Island sir). So, I have a history with these guys, but, hey, I am a reviewer, and I can be objective…
We are ripping shit up immediately on the opening title track, with its frantic shredding, machine gun double bass, a nice breakdown, and those patented love ’em or hate ‘em vocals from Mr. Bobby 'Blitz' Ellsworth. The production is top notch on this record. Super clean but not overdone. The drums sound amazing, and the guitar tone is excellent. Speaking of the drumming, the addition of Jason Bittner from Shadows Fall has taken this decade’s version of the band to the next level; I absolutely love his work on the entire album, but hear for yourself on a track like Goin' Home, which has some Priest Painkiller vibes (I hear this throughout Scorched, or not and I am nuts, pick one).
The Surgeon is more thrashy Overkill goodness and would give a run for the money of any of the tracks on the new Megadeth’s album. The band never takes their foot off the gas, with tracks like Twist Of The Wick, with a solo that could be on any of the earlier records, and harder They Fall, which harkens back to some of the hardcore influences you hear in some of their very early work but make no mistake, this is serious 2023 thrash metal. Wicked Place turns the tempo down just a bit, but not the heavy, with a nice bit of thrash and roll gallop while the bass of original member D.D. Verni leads the way on Won’t Be Coming Back which is also a very Priest-ish tune. Know Her Name has some Megadeth vibes (compliment in this case…) and Bag O Bones is dare I say fun, catchy, and a bit groovy, a really cool and dare I say fun way to close Scorched out.
Scorched is not going away from my rotation any time soon. I would put this record up against any of the 80s-90s thrash bands that are still putting out records today. It absolutely blows always for aforementioned Megadeth record and is way better than the most recent efforts from Exodus and Testament (I enjoyed both of those but I rank this higher) and without hearing it I know will be played way more than whatever Metallica drops on the same day, which is weird looking back on my mixtape that opened with two of my favorite tracks on albums from 1988 (Shred and Blackened), who would have thought Overkill would put out the record I would enjoy more than any of those other bands that decorated my walls and dominated my ears so long ago. 8/10
Dødheimsgard - Black Medium Current (Peaceville) [Mark Young]
With nine songs weighing in at 70 minutes, this is not going to be an easy-listening experience. This is the sixth album from Dødheimsgard, evolving from their initial black metal roots into the avant-garde industrial genre they find themselves in now. The album art itself suggests that they are constantly looking outwards as to their next evolutionary step, and I’ll be honest I have no idea what I’m about to subject myself to.
I think that defining avant-garde might assist in forming this review, because trying to take you through each song on here would be redundant. Avant-garde refers to an experimental work of art as created by innovative artists who feel constrained to create using a standard set of rules or norms. That’s a loose definition but I think it works here, as Dødheimsgard are existing outside of standard convention. Their art reflects their development and probable dissatisfaction with just playing/writing traditional black metal or metal in general.
Just for clarity they can play. Oh god yes. On this display they can do anything.
There is a myriad of genres, styles in play here, with no one track being in any way like what precedes or follows it. From soft strings, ethereal chants, piano arrangements to classic rock sounding passages to electronic motifs nothing is off the menu in terms of being used, manipulated and re-shaped to their needs. It is upbeat, downbeat and all spaces in between. Everything is arranged with an almost preternatural precision that what ever tools used will fit their desired aesthetic. How everything comes together is just outstanding and should be recognised as such.
It will take numerous listens to fully absorb everything here and warrants the audience to be able take themselves away and hear it without distraction. This is not the sort of music you can have on in the background whilst you talk about your day. This is full-on in terms of what they want from you because they are demanding you give your time to listen to it. If you are from the normal (is there such a thing?) side of heavy music and by that, I mean riffs, scream/growled/clean vocals, trem picking, double bass/blast beats (like me, I’m not ashamed to say) you will find it as difficult as I did to get into it.
And yet if you can do that, go into this with an open approach it will give back a hundred-fold because in general terms how many albums can you hear that ape Slaughter Of The Soul? Or The Bleeding? How about Entombed? What about those bands that now do the stock quiet/loud/quiet arrangement on nearly every song? They are everywhere. Music like this isn’t.
You should give this your attention because I don’t believe you will hear anything else like it this year. 9/10
Syncolima - Wavelengths (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]
If you're a fan of strong beer, medium drugs and light debauchery then you'll be pleased to hear that Mansfield trio Syncolmia return with their sophomore album Wavelengths. If their debut Where the End Meets The Beginning was a rebirth from the end of WitchTripper, where rhythm section Stoff and Gazz had their tenure before forming the Syncolima with Josh on guitar/vocals, then Wavelengths is their stamp on the UK rock scene.
The debut had a heady sound of desert rock ala Fu Manchu, stoner rock like Clutch and Soundgarden-inspired grunge too, so it's no wonder they stick to what they do well on this follow up, grooves get going from Beautifully Unsaid, which has a similar riff to the final track on the previous record giving a sense of continuity. It's a dynix entrance that shifts into a head nodding instrumental section as Gazz's boisterous drumming and Stoff's lead bass riffs meld with Josh's guitars. With the sound re-established by the first song, on Riff they get groovy with some Frantic Four/Stray style boogie, the spoken word vocals and simple chorus a definite show opener, but it's from here they take more astral realms on the psych rock of Communicide.
The three tracks here are enough to get you excite about this follow up and also make you realise that Syncolima are dabbling in broader genres with this second album. The woozy, space rock of the title track is far more complex than anything on their debut album, which can be said for nearly all of this record, a musical advancement and also in terms of production too, with a Maiden gallop on The Dregs crashing into a distorted middle eight and a bit of skater grunge choppy riffage on Down In The Muck Again. Fully emerged from any previous bands as their own endeavour, Wavelengths is a riff powered spaceship to the edges of the galaxy, strap on for the ride. 8/10
Mesmur - Chthonic (Aesthetic Death) [Paul Scoble]
Taking their name from the Turkish word for Psalm or Holy Song, international doom band Mesmur have been making huge noises since 2013. The band, based in several different countries have released three albums before Chthonic; a self titled album in 2014, 3 years later they released their second album entitled S, in 2019 Mesmur released their last album before Chthonic, called Terrene.
The band is made up of John D on drums, Michele M on bass, Jeramy L on guitars and synths and Chris G on vocals. Mesmur have been joined on Chthonic by two guest artists; Brianne Vieira plays cello on the song Petroglyph and viola on the song Passage, and (good friend of Musipedia Of Metal) Kostas Panagiotou from the brilliant funeral doom band Pantheïst playing organ on two instrumentals Chthonic (Prelude) and Chthonic (Coda) that bookend the album. Kostas is returning a favour as two members of Mesmur, John D and Jeremy L provided drums and guitar on Pantheïst’s 2021 album Closer To God. Jeremy a full time studio member of Pantheïst.
The album is split into five songs, the two short Chthonic instrumentals that open and close the album, and three much longer songs in between.
The album opens with the first of the Chthonic instrumentals prelude. This is a short instrumental featuring a big, heavy doom riff and Kostas’s organ that draws you into the first long track, Refraction. The track starts with a very slow riff that is that feels melancholy, this is the first time we meet a very original part for a funeral doom band, a synth, and no I don’t mean a keyboard pretending to be a Hammond organ or a Fender Rhodes, this is unashamedly synthy. It sounds like something you’d expect to hear on a piece of dance music, maybe something like Psy-Trance, which is a little surprising, however, after a couple of listens I found I really liked it.
I would have thought that this would make the music feel cold and lacking in emotion, something that wouldn’t work with a genre like funeral doom, but it doesn’t sound cold, if anything it fills everything with a crystalline fragility, as if the song could shatter at any moment, which works very well with big sad riffs. The synth is a brilliant addition to Mesmur's sound, it features on all the songs, and sets them apart from most of the genre. The riffs are slow and sorrowful, with huge Harsh vocals and slowly build and then ebb away several times. The huge riffs are accompanied by melody leads that add a lovely tunefulness to help temper the mournful feel.
The next track Petroglyph opens with an eerie, echoey guitar, a huge slow riff and harsh vocals are added, but the echoey, spooky feel continues. In some places this is reminiscent of Esoteric, a sort of dissonant, brooding funeral doom. About half way through the synth comes to the fore and gives everything a little more warmth, Brianne Vieira’s cello also adds some warmth, but also adds a very melancholy tune, making this section feel cathartic. The song then goes back to the desolate, echoey nightmare sound for the end of the song.
Next we get the final of the long songs with the nearly nineteen minute Passage. The song is initially very slow and sad with the synth front and centre, the song slowly builds in heaviness and harsh vocals are added, until the song feels immense. At this point the song drops to silence and a soft clean guitar and synth come in very quietly.
Again a big slow riff comes crashing in with harsh vocals and a melody lead, then fast double bass drums arrive driving the song along with a great guitar lead and really good Synth riff, this then drops into a blast beat, and suddenly I’m comparing this to bands like Mesarthim or Oranssi Pazuzu, who are both electronica infused black metal, which was not a comparison I was expecting to make whilst reviewing a funeral doom act. The song then goes back to the slow and heavy riffs with a little dissonance to them, Brianne Vieira’s viola adds a lovely dark melody before huge and heavy riffs take this song to its conclusion.
Chthonic (Coda) is a short instrumental of organ and synth atmosphere that lulls the album to its end in a very pleasing way. Chthonic is a stunning album. Breathtakingly original, deeply affecting, and full of emotion. It feels like an album that has been carefully constructed and considered, this is has not been thrown together. The album is a journey through many different moods and sounds, but still feels like a complete whole, despite having occasional similarities with other bands, this couldn’t be any other band than Mesmur, their sound is so distinctive.
With this album I feel Mesmur should now be considered to be on the same level as bands like Esoteric, Mournful Congregation, or Funeral; Mesmur are now in the top tier of funeral doom bands, band that have helped create the genre and have moved it forward, something that Mesmur are now doing. If you like funeral doom, this is essential. 9/10