Yakuza - Sutra (Svart)
Here we have Sutra, from Chicago outfit Yakuza, who according to the incredibly helpful tags from online sources are doom metal with experimental and improvisational aspects to their sound. So, before we start, does anyone have a dislike of saxophones?
2is1 builds upon a repeating melodic measure with vocals that sound like they have been recorded slightly out of phase. It’s a promising start that sets up the album to follow as the song falls back to that repeated phrase. Alice starts with an urgent riff with vocals coming in from what feels like the sides as the song itself twists and turns through different attacks – fast, slow but always with that vocal carrying itself above the supporting music behind it that finds itself giving over to Echoes From The Sky, which is a stomper of a track. It has that class to it that grabs from the outset and takes you on a journey, similar to earlier Mastodon which is always welcome. When they put the brakes on to allow some off-kilter moments to really shake it up, its like a kaleidoscope of themes that allows this to take off for part unknown.
Embers grounds things, with a controlled approach and vocals that build in synch with the guitar behind it. Capricorn Rising keeps this going with a mournful backing, again with sax providing the base for this. It breaks out of this by changing approach, riffing drums going heavy for the final minutes and even here its changing in its attack and approach, just so many good ideas here and is spot on in execution. Burn Before Reading, has that soft middle with sax once again adding layers to already great melody line. The preceding riffs to get us to this point were sharp and this gives it that organic, living quality to it.
Walking God with that insistent guitar line that skips almost happily into a death gaze, with subtle percussion backing things up. It slowly increases in accompaniment and intensity then picks up into a riff-out and back into that doom type tempo which closes us out and brings us Into Forever which is possibly the most straight forward in terms of a metal blast It’s the shortest song that feels longer than its length, this is followed by Psychic Malaise with its droning attack on the senses, with mixed vocals and discordant background noise which is suddenly shaken off as the song leaps to life. It’s the strangest feeling as the song seems to be stretching and compressing in real time, as the music changes speed almost imperceptibly. Its unsettling and brilliant at the same time.
We finish with Never The Less, slow and pained before that slightly off time riff comes in to shake it up. I don’t know what it is, but it adds that tension to it, which is offset by that sax again, playing off against the guitar. That tension builds and builds along middle eastern themes, keeping that refrain going. It’s heady and heavy stuff and is a fitting end to the album.
This is a great album. Don’t be put off by the tags bestowed on it via online sources. First and foremost, it rocks. This is not Yoko levels of experimental, it’s a band that is in full flow and confident in its art and how it wants to be heard. Of course, it won’t be for all metal heads but then if everything sounded like everything else then it would be boring. This isn’t an album that you can put on and rock out to at a party, but it is an album that will keep you listening as there are things you will miss on that first go run through. You may hate the use of sax in your heavy metal. I don’t believe that Yakuza will care too much about that. 7/10
Wastelands is a mini-album or EP, depending on your perspective on things from German post-metal intensives Heretoir. There are three new tracks and three live versions of previously released material and from the outset, Heretoir have a lot to say. Anima builds on an almost soft guitar part that underpins a brilliant chord movement that is built to pull on your emotions. This is combined with the more traditional BM drumming and vocals until they switch into the anguished cleans all the while maintaining that guitar part is just royal. The melodic parts of this song just pour forward and its just immense, heavy and soft at the same time of delivery and is one the best songs I’ve heard in ages.
At Dusk comes in on what feels like a cosmic spiral of light, whispered choir like backing, simple piano accompaniment and that slow drum build that herald in the softly delivered vocals again with a beautiful arrangement. The dual vocals from Eklatanz and Emily Highfield (Suldusk) is just awesome. Its unhurried in its journey and is completely different from Anima, with the song building to its climax with the music swelling until only drums are left to then take us straight into the title track of Wastelands. It’s a stark opening sequence of drums until that dual guitar attack of melody comes in for the kill building that tension up, in a mournful track that is devasting when the heavy section comes in as the vocals are offered as a cathartic scream. I cannot believe how good these three songs are. They just seem to hit differently somehow, but they have been crafted with laser guided precision. Exceptional stuff.
The final half of this collection is a live in the studio recordings of three songs that appeared previously on The Circle and again seem to have been given a new lease of life, with the sonic qualities shown on the new songs having leeched their way here, with Exhale being a highlight. This is a stunning collection of songs that show an amazing breadth of skill and understanding of how to write and arrange some of the best songs I’ve heard that take in black metal, soft moments and all out bombast. If you get chance to pick this up then do it. Lets hope there is not another 6 year wait for new music. 9/10
Miscreance - Convergence (Season Of Mist)
The shadow of Chuck Schuldiner/Death still looms large on the death metal scene, with his music still being looked to as being the gold standard in melding brutality and musicality. Sometimes you can hear new music from a band you have never heard before and just know where they got their cues from. This is the case with Miscreance, who unashamedly have gone for that latter era of Death for Convergence, their debut full length album.
So what we have is basically a 31 minute love letter to Death, it’s the best way I can describe it in all honesty because as soon as it starts it hits you with the opening track Flame Of Consciousness it’s all there – changing time signatures, the high level of musicianship and the vocal delivery all in place. This attention to detail is remarkable as each track just rips along and is great to listen to. This runs through each of the 8 tracks presented and there is no doubt that it is a great collection of death metal, but my problem is how much of Miscreance is in there? Each song has readily identifiable moments that we have heard before so in that respect its not new and it doesn’t offer a new take or spin for it to engage. I am being harsh here, but it cannot be helped as I feel that with this, they could be labelled a Death clone.
How you enjoy this album will largely depend upon on approach. On one hand, we have the back catalogue that stands alone in its field so if you want the OG technical death metal you will listen to that. If you are hankering for a very good technical death metal band, then you have these in amongst those who came afterwards. The material is good but if it is being directly compared to Death then it falls short, just because Death did it first. The next album that Miscreance do will be so important for them because they will either continued down this road they have started here, or they will start to bring their own identity into what they write. For me that is more exciting than hearing another collection of Death-like material. 6/10
Craving - Call Of The Sirens (Massacre Records)
German three-piece are hoping to entrance you with their latest offering, Call Of The Sirens. This is an incredibly atmospheric, melodic and heavy album that has that balance down pat. It just starts and is not content to sit back until the last note of the last song. They have also pulled together an extensive roster of guest musicians to help them fill out the sound, which is done expertly on Call Of The Sirens and Death March with the addition of guest vocalists take them to another dimension.
The songs are in a constant state of movement, even during the slower parts and its this that keeps the whole thing pounding along, as they go into battle knowing nothing, but full tilt attack will be enough. Mich Packt Die Wut just explodes following an acoustic start, producing their mission statement right there. This should be opening their live shows as it pounds you into the ground. Call Of The Sirens, is full of atmosphere, pounding drums and frantic guitar, with keys filling the gaps in the sound. Despite the length it’s in a constant state of movement, with the black metal vocals moving into an almost gang/choir effect with multiple voices swelling it
Death March keeps possession of those multiple voices for a melodic blast that starts and ends with acoustic passages before it blasts off into trem picking, ably backed by drums, which just seem to get faster as it goes on. Melody is very much in the Craving playbook. Simple but effective especially when combined with backing vocals that are pitch perfect. Maiden Of The Sun is another blast filled monster, scorching from start to finish.
They do lean into almost Viking-beer drinking territory with the melody line at the start of Blood Ov Franconia but manage to avoid falling into parody, by keeping that insane tempo going and moving that melody up and around to keep it familiar but different at the same time. It’s great stuff and is followed by Gods Don’t Negotiate which follows the same route as Blood... This fell more into that rousing, celebratory style but with a guitar work out just to add spice. I’m not fond of this style of song but it is done with style and builds to a rising climax that I’m sure will be wild live.
Prayer For The Rain finds them back on that folk metal approach, certainly in the vocal line. It’s still fast when it needs to be and throws in a whispered middle section before it builds back to that expected heavy climax. Star By Star closes out the original material and possesses that innate sense of melody that has been present all the way through. They are full on here, playing like their lives depended on it. The extended solos are welcome, and they end the song just that bit faster than when they came in before they put the brakes in the final minute with what by rights should provide them an epic audience singalong and then Bang, done.
The bonus tracks consist of two covers – El Diablo (Elena Tsagrinou), and Shum (Go A). The former is a song sung originally for Eurovision 2021 Semi-final and I’ll leave it to you to form your own opinion on it. The latter was the Ukrainian entry for the same year. Again, I’ll leave it to you as to the merits of it. So, bonus songs to one side, what we have is a well-crafted and recorded set of black / melodic metal. It does stray too far into the folky side for me on some of the songs. For that I’m going with a 7/10
Prayer For The Rain finds them back on that folk metal approach, certainly in the vocal line. It’s still fast when it needs to be and throws in a whispered middle section before it builds back to that expected heavy climax. Star By Star closes out the original material and possesses that innate sense of melody that has been present all the way through. They are full on here, playing like their lives depended on it. The extended solos are welcome, and they end the song just that bit faster than when they came in before they put the brakes in the final minute with what by rights should provide them an epic audience singalong and then Bang, done.
The bonus tracks consist of two covers – El Diablo (Elena Tsagrinou), and Shum (Go A). The former is a song sung originally for Eurovision 2021 Semi-final and I’ll leave it to you to form your own opinion on it. The latter was the Ukrainian entry for the same year. Again, I’ll leave it to you as to the merits of it. So, bonus songs to one side, what we have is a well-crafted and recorded set of black / melodic metal. It does stray too far into the folky side for me on some of the songs. For that I’m going with a 7/10