Torpor - Abscission (Human Worth) [Mark Young]
This is the third album from Torpor who hit the UK later this year with a run of shows starting in October. Looking online at their socials and accompanying release from label Human Worth, they have taken what has come before and looked inwardly, with this filter spewing forth this collection of doom and sludge. There must be something in the water in Bristol, because it is responsible for some of the most impenetrable and dense music being recorded in the UK today.
Interior Gestures ushers in a ten-minute journey through controlled soundscapes, running from the intensively heavy to the almost soft introspection given from a spoken word passage. This isn’t just an oft-repeated chord or motif it has a solid groove in place that does enough to provide energy for the listener to feed off as it makes its gargantuan move to the finish line. It’s not an easy listen though, as this is insanely heavy, grinding through several changes in motion and attack. It is also one that warrants you to sit back and just get taken in by the sheer size and feel of the sound. Monstrous.
Anybody who reads my reviews (hi you two!!) will know that I’m not a massive fan of doom, sludge or the slower end of extreme metal. However, that doesn’t mean that I cannot recognise a prime slab of noise when I hear it. And this is what you have here. It is just massive, so no matter how I describe it you won’t get it until you listen for yourself. 8/10
This is the third album from Torpor who hit the UK later this year with a run of shows starting in October. Looking online at their socials and accompanying release from label Human Worth, they have taken what has come before and looked inwardly, with this filter spewing forth this collection of doom and sludge. There must be something in the water in Bristol, because it is responsible for some of the most impenetrable and dense music being recorded in the UK today.
Interior Gestures ushers in a ten-minute journey through controlled soundscapes, running from the intensively heavy to the almost soft introspection given from a spoken word passage. This isn’t just an oft-repeated chord or motif it has a solid groove in place that does enough to provide energy for the listener to feed off as it makes its gargantuan move to the finish line. It’s not an easy listen though, as this is insanely heavy, grinding through several changes in motion and attack. It is also one that warrants you to sit back and just get taken in by the sheer size and feel of the sound. Monstrous.
Keeping within that intent, As Shadow Follows Body has an unearthly, almost frozen pace twinned with one of the lowest ends I’ve ever heard. Guttural vocals, sometimes matching, sometimes not as it builds to a crescendo, trading off against cleans that suddenly fall away to leave you with what feels like sound without a skin. Its unnatural and then the resulting BOOM as they come back in with the riffs is something to behold. The structure and arrangement is just top-notch, and it just batters you as there is nowhere to hide from it. At volume, it is a wonderful thing, just wonderful.
Muted drums on a loop heralds the start of Accidie as another thunderstrike comes in that almost brings an industrial tinge to it. Everything is built to almost machine-like tolerance, nothing is wasted or overused, it moves to its tortured end to allow Carbon to run straight from it – anguished screams, feedback, all of it controlled to literally explode in speed and then slowly fall away. It’s an absolute headfuck of a song, showing up their love for Khanate but achieving its aim in a third of the time.
Muted drums on a loop heralds the start of Accidie as another thunderstrike comes in that almost brings an industrial tinge to it. Everything is built to almost machine-like tolerance, nothing is wasted or overused, it moves to its tortured end to allow Carbon to run straight from it – anguished screams, feedback, all of it controlled to literally explode in speed and then slowly fall away. It’s an absolute headfuck of a song, showing up their love for Khanate but achieving its aim in a third of the time.
And then it’s the slowly building start of Island Of Abandonment as they hold you in their palms for the next 11 minutes. It comes waves, the guttural vocals once more set against that repeating stabbing pattern, joined by the lowest of low-end assault. If you can imagine a giant, buried by time and tide, slowly waking and digging itself out, shaking soil and dirt from its massive frame then that will give you a comparison to how this song takes shape. It just gets bigger, swelling and probing for a weak spot to overcome and just flatten you. Its monstrously heavy without resorting to repeated ad infinitum guitar. It moves on its own timescale and to its own accord.
Outergods – A Kingdom Bulit Upon The Wreckage Of Heaven (Prosthetic Records) [Rick Eaglestone]
Fully ripened for their Bloodstock performance Nottingham, UK extreme / death metal group Outergods unveil debut album A Kingdom Built Upon The Wreckage Of Heaven
The snarling delivery on Nocturnal Death sets the tone of records and spills into ODSM territory with a maniacal twist vocally for Into The Howling Void. Faceless Entities is easily the albums most blistering gem, you get full on assault to start and even in the background there are subtle touches of menace, its basically the equivalent of black coffee make with 10 tablespoons and a river of sugar and there is no follow up love ballad as joining this is Tangled In The Cogs Of The Nightmare Machine which is not only my highlight track but one that bleeds the aesthetic of the album as a whole.
In under a minute Abandoned At The Centre Of A Celestial Hell with it’s ominous instrumental has already made me consider turning all the lights on before its follow Nothing But A Fetid Worm bludgeons my eardrums, again its swirling amalgamation of chaos is laden with subtle elements that only add the dynamic and well, that guitar solo is top tier on a Honey Roast Peanut Butter Level
Both Catacombs Of Madness and Flesh Prison very much follow suit before final title track A Kingdom Built Upon The Wreckage Of Heaven comes in a whopping seven and half minute a lays waste with some spectacular musicianship, varying tempos, crushing riffs and my favourite vocal delivery of the release.
A feral beast of a record. 8/10
Conquer Divide – Slow Burn (Mascot Records) [Alex Swift]
Even though it would seem a little presumptuous to call your sophomore album Slow Burn after eight years in the works, Conquer Divde are certainly careful about their creativity and, a few years after their brief hiatus, prepared to resume their musical careers. I listened to their self-titled debut in my research for this review and was somewhat disappointed. There was definitely potential, but despite a few outstanding pieces, their blend of metal with melodic hard rock, felt lacking in a unique identity.
In spite of my gripes with the debut, the group is not only reinvigorated with the release of their follow-up, but the combination of styles also sounds much more polished. They seem to have veered more towards both their growling, visceral side, and larger hooks than previously. As an illustration, the album's first track, Atonement, begins with a pounding rhythm and Janel Duarte's roaring vocals, while the majestic beauty of Kia Castillo's sung refrain makes good use of those hook-writing abilities. Newheaven, by contrast, makes a sharp change, bringing electronic sounds to begin with before unleashing a massive, arena-ready crescendo later on.
The tracks as a whole are made stronger by these components, which successfully lend them more richness and texture by extending the aural spectrum into more ethereal and moody areas. The background atmosphere especially helps welcome2paradise, giving ecological calamity forecasts a greater impact. The drumming has also been improved, with booming patterns that support the emotive melodies of songs like Pressure.
System Failure is one of the best songs on Slow Burn and has all the makings of a possible live staple thanks to its erratic middle-section, intense vocal exchanges, and memorability. It's an excellent example of the band's aggressive side coming out, without giving up that arena potential. Even as they lead into the second half, the band maintains a high level of performance. Invisible shifts to a desolate, string-backed lament from the ferocious roars of afterthought. Finally, the album's closing track, gAtEkEePer, has a terrible name to write but is a fantastic song that details the band's struggles and their tenacity in spite of them.
Conquer Divide's Slow Burn is still a very accomplished record, even though musically they aren't doing anything new. It is an improvement over their self-titled record in every way, managing to both turn up the intensity and maintain the anthemic and chorus-crushing intent of the band's previous work. Even though it took several years to come out, Slow Burn has been worthwhile. 7/10
Fully ripened for their Bloodstock performance Nottingham, UK extreme / death metal group Outergods unveil debut album A Kingdom Built Upon The Wreckage Of Heaven
The snarling delivery on Nocturnal Death sets the tone of records and spills into ODSM territory with a maniacal twist vocally for Into The Howling Void. Faceless Entities is easily the albums most blistering gem, you get full on assault to start and even in the background there are subtle touches of menace, its basically the equivalent of black coffee make with 10 tablespoons and a river of sugar and there is no follow up love ballad as joining this is Tangled In The Cogs Of The Nightmare Machine which is not only my highlight track but one that bleeds the aesthetic of the album as a whole.
In under a minute Abandoned At The Centre Of A Celestial Hell with it’s ominous instrumental has already made me consider turning all the lights on before its follow Nothing But A Fetid Worm bludgeons my eardrums, again its swirling amalgamation of chaos is laden with subtle elements that only add the dynamic and well, that guitar solo is top tier on a Honey Roast Peanut Butter Level
Both Catacombs Of Madness and Flesh Prison very much follow suit before final title track A Kingdom Built Upon The Wreckage Of Heaven comes in a whopping seven and half minute a lays waste with some spectacular musicianship, varying tempos, crushing riffs and my favourite vocal delivery of the release.
A feral beast of a record. 8/10
Conquer Divide – Slow Burn (Mascot Records) [Alex Swift]
Even though it would seem a little presumptuous to call your sophomore album Slow Burn after eight years in the works, Conquer Divde are certainly careful about their creativity and, a few years after their brief hiatus, prepared to resume their musical careers. I listened to their self-titled debut in my research for this review and was somewhat disappointed. There was definitely potential, but despite a few outstanding pieces, their blend of metal with melodic hard rock, felt lacking in a unique identity.
In spite of my gripes with the debut, the group is not only reinvigorated with the release of their follow-up, but the combination of styles also sounds much more polished. They seem to have veered more towards both their growling, visceral side, and larger hooks than previously. As an illustration, the album's first track, Atonement, begins with a pounding rhythm and Janel Duarte's roaring vocals, while the majestic beauty of Kia Castillo's sung refrain makes good use of those hook-writing abilities. Newheaven, by contrast, makes a sharp change, bringing electronic sounds to begin with before unleashing a massive, arena-ready crescendo later on.
The tracks as a whole are made stronger by these components, which successfully lend them more richness and texture by extending the aural spectrum into more ethereal and moody areas. The background atmosphere especially helps welcome2paradise, giving ecological calamity forecasts a greater impact. The drumming has also been improved, with booming patterns that support the emotive melodies of songs like Pressure.
System Failure is one of the best songs on Slow Burn and has all the makings of a possible live staple thanks to its erratic middle-section, intense vocal exchanges, and memorability. It's an excellent example of the band's aggressive side coming out, without giving up that arena potential. Even as they lead into the second half, the band maintains a high level of performance. Invisible shifts to a desolate, string-backed lament from the ferocious roars of afterthought. Finally, the album's closing track, gAtEkEePer, has a terrible name to write but is a fantastic song that details the band's struggles and their tenacity in spite of them.
Conquer Divide's Slow Burn is still a very accomplished record, even though musically they aren't doing anything new. It is an improvement over their self-titled record in every way, managing to both turn up the intensity and maintain the anthemic and chorus-crushing intent of the band's previous work. Even though it took several years to come out, Slow Burn has been worthwhile. 7/10
Starmen - Starmenized (Melodic Passion) [Rich Piva]
A couple of weeks ago I grabbed an album labeled “glam” from the promo folder, not really knowing what I was getting into, thinking it was most likely a 80s Hair Band retread the I was going to most likely hate. As it turns out it was the Velvet Insane record that I just can’t get enough of and is one of my most listened to albums so far of 2023. The glam in question was Bowie/Bolan worship, and I am always down for that when done well.
A couple of weeks ago I grabbed an album labeled “glam” from the promo folder, not really knowing what I was getting into, thinking it was most likely a 80s Hair Band retread the I was going to most likely hate. As it turns out it was the Velvet Insane record that I just can’t get enough of and is one of my most listened to albums so far of 2023. The glam in question was Bowie/Bolan worship, and I am always down for that when done well.
So why not take a second flyer on a band calling themselves glam? Well, here I am with the new Starmen album Starmenized, and at this point I would have preferred the 80s Hair stuff, because this one is pretty much AOR drivel that doesn’t really bring anything of interest or any type or unique idea to the table. So, not so glam at all, but you would not know that looking at their promo pictures as they all have Kiss inspired star patterned full face makeup. This is all starting to make sense now. Starmenized is the Swedish band’s fourth album since 2020, and the least glam of the batch based on my initial research, and that is a shame, because there is nothing of interest for me here.
As a reference point musically, think Hot In The Shade 90s Kiss, but without any of the good songs on that album. Like the ones that were written and thrown away. I like Hot In The Shade, so this is not fair to that album. Dude sounds eerily like 90s era Paul Stanley. Like scary, to the point it freaks me out a bit as a huge Kiss fan. They have songs called Rockstar and I Die For You, which is a bit too much on the nose.
As a reference point musically, think Hot In The Shade 90s Kiss, but without any of the good songs on that album. Like the ones that were written and thrown away. I like Hot In The Shade, so this is not fair to that album. Dude sounds eerily like 90s era Paul Stanley. Like scary, to the point it freaks me out a bit as a huge Kiss fan. They have songs called Rockstar and I Die For You, which is a bit too much on the nose.
Points for the opening track Liar, which sounds a bit like one of the more rocking Mr. Big tracks and is the highlight of the record. The noodling guitar work is both interesting and annoying at the same time. It’s really all downhill from here. Rockstar is lame lyrically and quite cringeworthy. Back to Kiss, this could be a B-Side to the Australian single of Torpedo Girl. The production on Starmenized is weird, just check out the drum opening on Tears Never Dry, which hits a 10 out of 10 on the Stanley imitation scale vocally. Don’t Kiss cover bands do pretty well these days?
There is a song called Radioactive which is unfortunately not a cover of the one from the Gene solo album and sounds more like a very band Eurovision reject (can I say this as an American?). I had to turn off the song called Word Up as the cringe was just too much for me. This is like bad Paul solo album stuff. The title track closer tries to be heavy but the production does not allow it to get anything more than a strong whimper, and once again the cringe factor is off the charts.
I am one for two with albums labeled glam. I think the industry needs to redefine that category, because this is not glam. It takes more than painting your face and playing neutered hair band rock to be glam. The Starmen should reconsider putting four records out in three years and figure out what they are going for, because Starmenized is not good and maybe quality would trump quantity for them. That or they can be the first Kiss cover band to focus on the Unmasked through Hot In The Shade part of the catalog. 2/10
I am one for two with albums labeled glam. I think the industry needs to redefine that category, because this is not glam. It takes more than painting your face and playing neutered hair band rock to be glam. The Starmen should reconsider putting four records out in three years and figure out what they are going for, because Starmenized is not good and maybe quality would trump quantity for them. That or they can be the first Kiss cover band to focus on the Unmasked through Hot In The Shade part of the catalog. 2/10