Cloak - Black Flame Eternal (Season Of Mist) [Erick Willand]
Cloak’s sophomore album The Burning Dawn dropped late 2019 and like so many that released albums at that time it’s impact was lessened by the world at large unexpectedly shutting down. It’s a shame really since The Burning Dawn is a solid album and although it was on the radar of critics and die hard ‘must listen to everything’ dudes like myself not being able to tour hurts these days. Like other bands stuck in this Cloak did what so many did, wrote another album.
Black Flame Eternal begins in a grandiose entrance style, drums and blasts as to herald a dark arrival. Ethereal Fire is blistering and direct without losing the band's trad metal influence, can’t help but join in with the “HAIL!” gang chorus. The song trudges a little in the back half but this takes little away. With Fury And Allegiance is Cloak flexing their speed and aggression muscles, it’s furious and Taysom’s vocals are at just the right gravel growl levels.
Def Leppard - Drastic Symphonies (UMR) [Rich Piva]
Look, Def Leppard was never my favorite band, even growing up during the time when they were arguably the biggest band in the world when Hysteria dropped. I have always enjoyed their early work pre-Hysteria more than any of the work after, but nothing ever really made me feel one way or another after that. I really did not like their last studio album at all, but how bad could a “hits” record redone with an orchestra be? I mean we have some of those hits that we all love on Drastic Symphonies, so what could go wrong?
Turns out, a whole lot, as this may be one of the worst things I have heard in a long time, and I reviewed the latest Monster Truck album, so this is saying a lot. Nothing has been more unnecessary except maybe the new Mike Tramp record where he does terrible, uninspired new versions of his own songs. Some of these songs sound redone, some of them sound like they took the original and added some orchestra stuff, and some of them are flat out abominations to anyone who enjoys this band in any capacity. Take the top stripper song of all time, Pour Some Sugar On Me, which they somehow turned into a dirty Disney soundtrack song and actually made me lose hope in humanity. Their new take on Animal was not that much better.
Too Late For Love was OK, and by OK it didn’t make me want to smash my head through a window. I am not sure what album When Love And Hate Collide is on, but I want nothing to do with either of the versions. Thankfully they did not ruin my favorite Def Lep song, Bringing On The Heartbreak, which is the only reason that this got rated as high as it did. Also, there are sixteen tracks on this album. Sixteen!!! One hour and twenty-two minutes of this!!! Why do you hate me, Joe Elliott!!! I am not going to cover all of them because I really hate being negative in a review, but the guys have left me no choice.
There are bands who have done this very well (Metallica), just fine (Kiss), and acceptable (Metallica again) but this is not any of those. Def Lep are milking the cash cow, which is fine, but give us something that is listenable, not something that seems like a punishment to get all the way though. I am sorry to anyone who liked this, but I have not had such a visceral reaction to any album I have listened to in a long time. You’re welcome, Mike Tramp, you are no longer my lowest rated album of 2023, but it’s still terrible. 1/10
Inherus - Beholden (Hypnotic Dirge Records) [Mark Young]
Having a look online at where Inherus sit musically their members have come from various bands such as Witchkiss, Botanist, Swallow The Ocean and Lotus Thief to name but four. It’s labelled as a mix of post-metal and heavy rock that takes in black metal, doom, psyche on its musical journey.
So, when it starts with a roar and a warm guitar sound that bows at the alter of the Lord Tony Iommi it’s not what I expected at all. Forgotten Kingdom is all about the riff and blackened vocals with a suitable melodic backing that is given additional weight by Beth Gladding that provides that dynamic between clean and harsh. It continually changes its approach from track to track, One More Fire concentrates on Beth’s strong vocals in its opening stages against an almost minimal backing as she tells her story in an unhurried fashion. The harsh vocals come in with a backing that matches as we switch back and forth as the two styles come together. It put together so well; everything is in synch with each other which is key here.
The Dagger continues in the same manner, with those ethereal vocals really shining here, throwing in tasteful solos as it continues on its long path. They achieve so much with the combination of these clean vocals and a simple guitar riff which builds emotion and feeling. Oh Brother adopts the same approach and again uses the top-class clean vocals as a base to build and expand the song into that otherworldly realm, this time facing attack from the death growl vocals. Final song, Lie To The Angels starts as Forgotten Kingdom did, emphasis on a more up-tempo heavy approach but with a strong vocal delivery on both sides of the coin. They lean into the darker side here without forgetting the great work they have done leading up to this.
This is going to appeal to fans of expressive longer jams with the majority of songs running at nine minutes plus. It lives up to its description of a mix of psyche/doom which will definitely resonate with those who love those genres. The album is chock full of memorable riffs and musical intent. Its handled so well that it has clearly been a labour of love for those involved. If anything, the song lengths are too much for me but that is a minor criticism and results from an ingestion of thrash metal from an early age. As I’ve said fans will love it, and those involved should feel rightfully proud of their achievement with this. 8/10
Demented Heart - Frantic Epidemic (Brutal Mind) [GC]
Not much background on Demented Heart but after a quick search I can see they are from Indonesia and are on Brutal Mind records and then my heart sinks because I recently reviewed one of their artists and didn’t like it at all! They have a couple of releases previously, hopefully my initial trepidation can be stamped out by latest offering Frantic Epidemic.
It starts exactly how I expected on album opener and title track Frantic Epidemic with some full-on brutal tech death metal but this time there is no comical song titles or stupid album artwork! While it has the tech death at heart it also manages to have a bit of an old school death metal feel from the vocals and throws in some nice solos as if to ram this home even harder and I already feel better that I did at the start!
Black Flame Eternal begins in a grandiose entrance style, drums and blasts as to herald a dark arrival. Ethereal Fire is blistering and direct without losing the band's trad metal influence, can’t help but join in with the “HAIL!” gang chorus. The song trudges a little in the back half but this takes little away. With Fury And Allegiance is Cloak flexing their speed and aggression muscles, it’s furious and Taysom’s vocals are at just the right gravel growl levels.
This is followed by a change of pace with Shadowlands, a slower more insistent approach here with absolutely blazing guitar work. This track has ritual vibes on it, especially with the little spoken word bit. Invictus comes rolling in like an approaching storm with some howling vocals that highlight the grand sonic display. This song is a sweeping epic, there’s no other way to describe it musically, it blatantly breaks my ‘song length rule’ and I didn’t even notice. That’s good in my book.
Seven Thunders carries this urgency forward with a ferocious riffing and relentless drum assaults, I feel like a pyrotechnic display is in order for the live performance. Eye Of The Abyss has a great circling riff that carries the song through it’s gothy Dimmu Borgir inspired delivery and I’m once again given the ‘this is ritual’ vibes that bleed right into following track The Holy Dark which is clearly ritual as it happens. Fast and riff heavy with an in-your-face declaration for all things dark and esoteric, it’s intense and my fav track so far. Unfortunately this is followed by Heavenless, the shortest and clearly weakest song on the album, a weird gothic ballad of sorts that just feels so far out of place compared to the rest of the album, this is a final track placed just before that actual final track, a misstep to be sure.
Thus to the final track and the album title, Black Flame Eternal, a nearly seven minute journey in resplendent Blackened fashion that seems to distill all of the bands deep influences into a spell of driving darkness, Shagrath would be proud. Guitar heroics, thundering drums and insistent vocals are on full regalant display as this final spell brings this darkness to its final storm wracked end. I start the album over again.
Not without its faults to be sure, nearly each song on Black Flame Eternal could use a time trim, just the extra bits here or there, I’m not looking for pop song time here, but this isn’t Doom Metal either. The other quip is the placement of the song Heavenless, which just feels really out of place with the overall flow and vibe I think the band is going for. Despite this and to be fair, I wasn’t bored and I genuinely enjoyed this album and have listened to it four times now. Also the cover art is fantastic and fits well with the music, it’ll make great t-shirts. So, all tallied up Cloak and Black Flame Eternal land at 7/10
Seven Thunders carries this urgency forward with a ferocious riffing and relentless drum assaults, I feel like a pyrotechnic display is in order for the live performance. Eye Of The Abyss has a great circling riff that carries the song through it’s gothy Dimmu Borgir inspired delivery and I’m once again given the ‘this is ritual’ vibes that bleed right into following track The Holy Dark which is clearly ritual as it happens. Fast and riff heavy with an in-your-face declaration for all things dark and esoteric, it’s intense and my fav track so far. Unfortunately this is followed by Heavenless, the shortest and clearly weakest song on the album, a weird gothic ballad of sorts that just feels so far out of place compared to the rest of the album, this is a final track placed just before that actual final track, a misstep to be sure.
Thus to the final track and the album title, Black Flame Eternal, a nearly seven minute journey in resplendent Blackened fashion that seems to distill all of the bands deep influences into a spell of driving darkness, Shagrath would be proud. Guitar heroics, thundering drums and insistent vocals are on full regalant display as this final spell brings this darkness to its final storm wracked end. I start the album over again.
Not without its faults to be sure, nearly each song on Black Flame Eternal could use a time trim, just the extra bits here or there, I’m not looking for pop song time here, but this isn’t Doom Metal either. The other quip is the placement of the song Heavenless, which just feels really out of place with the overall flow and vibe I think the band is going for. Despite this and to be fair, I wasn’t bored and I genuinely enjoyed this album and have listened to it four times now. Also the cover art is fantastic and fits well with the music, it’ll make great t-shirts. So, all tallied up Cloak and Black Flame Eternal land at 7/10
Def Leppard - Drastic Symphonies (UMR) [Rich Piva]
Look, Def Leppard was never my favorite band, even growing up during the time when they were arguably the biggest band in the world when Hysteria dropped. I have always enjoyed their early work pre-Hysteria more than any of the work after, but nothing ever really made me feel one way or another after that. I really did not like their last studio album at all, but how bad could a “hits” record redone with an orchestra be? I mean we have some of those hits that we all love on Drastic Symphonies, so what could go wrong?
Turns out, a whole lot, as this may be one of the worst things I have heard in a long time, and I reviewed the latest Monster Truck album, so this is saying a lot. Nothing has been more unnecessary except maybe the new Mike Tramp record where he does terrible, uninspired new versions of his own songs. Some of these songs sound redone, some of them sound like they took the original and added some orchestra stuff, and some of them are flat out abominations to anyone who enjoys this band in any capacity. Take the top stripper song of all time, Pour Some Sugar On Me, which they somehow turned into a dirty Disney soundtrack song and actually made me lose hope in humanity. Their new take on Animal was not that much better.
Too Late For Love was OK, and by OK it didn’t make me want to smash my head through a window. I am not sure what album When Love And Hate Collide is on, but I want nothing to do with either of the versions. Thankfully they did not ruin my favorite Def Lep song, Bringing On The Heartbreak, which is the only reason that this got rated as high as it did. Also, there are sixteen tracks on this album. Sixteen!!! One hour and twenty-two minutes of this!!! Why do you hate me, Joe Elliott!!! I am not going to cover all of them because I really hate being negative in a review, but the guys have left me no choice.
There are bands who have done this very well (Metallica), just fine (Kiss), and acceptable (Metallica again) but this is not any of those. Def Lep are milking the cash cow, which is fine, but give us something that is listenable, not something that seems like a punishment to get all the way though. I am sorry to anyone who liked this, but I have not had such a visceral reaction to any album I have listened to in a long time. You’re welcome, Mike Tramp, you are no longer my lowest rated album of 2023, but it’s still terrible. 1/10
Inherus - Beholden (Hypnotic Dirge Records) [Mark Young]
Having a look online at where Inherus sit musically their members have come from various bands such as Witchkiss, Botanist, Swallow The Ocean and Lotus Thief to name but four. It’s labelled as a mix of post-metal and heavy rock that takes in black metal, doom, psyche on its musical journey.
So, when it starts with a roar and a warm guitar sound that bows at the alter of the Lord Tony Iommi it’s not what I expected at all. Forgotten Kingdom is all about the riff and blackened vocals with a suitable melodic backing that is given additional weight by Beth Gladding that provides that dynamic between clean and harsh. It continually changes its approach from track to track, One More Fire concentrates on Beth’s strong vocals in its opening stages against an almost minimal backing as she tells her story in an unhurried fashion. The harsh vocals come in with a backing that matches as we switch back and forth as the two styles come together. It put together so well; everything is in synch with each other which is key here.
The Dagger continues in the same manner, with those ethereal vocals really shining here, throwing in tasteful solos as it continues on its long path. They achieve so much with the combination of these clean vocals and a simple guitar riff which builds emotion and feeling. Oh Brother adopts the same approach and again uses the top-class clean vocals as a base to build and expand the song into that otherworldly realm, this time facing attack from the death growl vocals. Final song, Lie To The Angels starts as Forgotten Kingdom did, emphasis on a more up-tempo heavy approach but with a strong vocal delivery on both sides of the coin. They lean into the darker side here without forgetting the great work they have done leading up to this.
This is going to appeal to fans of expressive longer jams with the majority of songs running at nine minutes plus. It lives up to its description of a mix of psyche/doom which will definitely resonate with those who love those genres. The album is chock full of memorable riffs and musical intent. Its handled so well that it has clearly been a labour of love for those involved. If anything, the song lengths are too much for me but that is a minor criticism and results from an ingestion of thrash metal from an early age. As I’ve said fans will love it, and those involved should feel rightfully proud of their achievement with this. 8/10
Demented Heart - Frantic Epidemic (Brutal Mind) [GC]
Not much background on Demented Heart but after a quick search I can see they are from Indonesia and are on Brutal Mind records and then my heart sinks because I recently reviewed one of their artists and didn’t like it at all! They have a couple of releases previously, hopefully my initial trepidation can be stamped out by latest offering Frantic Epidemic.
It starts exactly how I expected on album opener and title track Frantic Epidemic with some full-on brutal tech death metal but this time there is no comical song titles or stupid album artwork! While it has the tech death at heart it also manages to have a bit of an old school death metal feel from the vocals and throws in some nice solos as if to ram this home even harder and I already feel better that I did at the start!
Severe Disease manages to inject some groove into the middle of all the death metal relentlessness and shows a clever knack of how to make what can sound all a bit one dimensional not sound so one dimensional, Incitement To Violence continues with the utterly inhumane pace that has been a theme of the album so far and while there is absolutely zero subtlety or variation on the tracks when they are done with this much conviction you just kind of have to sit back, listen and appreciate it all for what it is, which is thoroughly technically excellent death metal!
Terror And Destruction has a phenomenal opening riff that is full of big groove infused death metal that wouldn’t sound out of place on a mid-90’s Florida album and the rest of the song just destroys everything it its path with a breath-taking pace and again the way the solos are incorporated to really keep everything interesting is done brilliantly. Over the halfway point now and of course Impact Of Chaos does nothing to relax the tempo or slow down the attack and keep everything flowing along at the usual breakneck speed but does manage to have some of the most groove filled sections from the whole album so far that again offers a nice juxtaposition of sounds. Abnormal Funeral begins with probably the most straight forward death metal sound of the whole album and is not all heads down full-on attack mode, it’s still fast and savage but there is a focus and determination here to make you suffer in as many different ways for as long as possible.
Social Destroying then continues with the more old school but still savagely brutal tech death onslaught and is again done with such force that you just have to sit back and enjoy, there is of course a complete lack of variation and much of the record is very similar sounding but, when its done this well it really doesn’t matter at all! Territorial Invasion relies heavily on an almost thrash riff that carries the song forward with more unrelenting speed and power but obviously never strays to far from the sound that has been the body of the album so far, but the solos midway just keep adding to the thrash vibe and it’s a real pleasure to listen to as it keeps you guessing all the way through!
Population Decline then does what I didn’t expect and throws in an almost acoustic and mellow opening that flows directly into a slow-paced build up that then of course they cast all this aside and a cascading wall of death metal is back, and it stomps, pummels, thrashes and mixes in mid-tempo sols and continues to twist and turn all the way to the end of the track.
Got to admit, I was expecting very little from this and it produced so much! It got the death metal fan in me excited in a way that only good death metal can, it can be an exhilarating listen when done right and Demented Heart absolutely do it right on Frantic Heart they manage to mix the old and new school approach to death metal expertly and don’t need comedy song titles of stupid artwork to make you pay attention, this is an album that all death metal fans will really enjoy!! 8/10
Got to admit, I was expecting very little from this and it produced so much! It got the death metal fan in me excited in a way that only good death metal can, it can be an exhilarating listen when done right and Demented Heart absolutely do it right on Frantic Heart they manage to mix the old and new school approach to death metal expertly and don’t need comedy song titles of stupid artwork to make you pay attention, this is an album that all death metal fans will really enjoy!! 8/10