Vallenfyre - A Fragile King (2011)

Members of Paradise Lost, At the Gates and My Dying Bride come together on this release - a personal one for Greg Mackintosh as it's inspiration stems from his father's diagnosis and death from prostate cancer.  In other words, we have a super-group coming together to release an album of mourning.

While such a bleak and personal subject matter isn't really out of keeping for members who have been pioneers of the doom scene, we have little here that can be described in any way as 'doom'.  What this obviously, very intimate recording assaults us with is largely an old school, crusty death metal which harks back to the 'Swedish' sound - namely Wolverine Blues-era Entombed.

There are elements of a more doomy and at times gothic sound, yet these are rather minimal compared with what you might expect.  The track Majesty Dethroned has a mid-section that could be on almost any early doom release - save for more modern production while some of the more less prevalent leads throughout the disc increase the doomy elements.  However, this is not a doom release; it is undoubtedly and (thankfully) unashamedly death metal.

Perhaps less thankfully though is the fact that it does absolutely nothing original.  It's something that you'll listen to a few times, love but then only ever put on as background music while you're having a beer.  For the most part you'll be fine, but with tracks like The Grim Irony don't expect it all to be light-hearted.  

The fact remains that what it does it does very well.  I just wish there was something a little more there.  Seriously, if I didn't know any better and someone threw this on, I'd be sat there desperately trying to figure out which Entombed album I was listening to and why it didn't sound that familiar.  The overall sound is bang on and that's before we get to Mackintosh's vocals which are a dead ringer for a certain Mr Petrov.

I must admit though, I was expecting to hate this album:  When I fist put it on, I listened to it through a pair of monitors and was disgusted by the guitar tone.  It was just fucking horrible.  Listening to it on a shitter stereo or a pair of headphones and it's a different story.  Yes the guitars are buzzy and have that old-school middle-yet-buzzy thing going on, but it fits the music perfectly.  And when it rips in to the higher octane leads . . . yes, this album fucking rocks.

The disappointment is that it's pretty much going to be instantly forgettable.  It fails to have it's own personality, instead borrowing that of a band who've been among my favourites for years.  Which, considering the subject matter, is pretty fucking odd.

Apparently this was never intended for general release.  And I can pretty much see why.  It's a shame that when the decision was made to actually put it out, a little more thought and a few flares or originality weren't injected into A Fragile King.  Still; it's a solid album and if like me you like that sort've thing, you won't hate this.  But I doubt you'll particularly remember it either.

Retrospective: Akercocke - Chronzon

I'm not entirely sure why it took me so long to fully appreciate the mastery of Akercocke.  Years ago I picked up the Goat of Mendes album and I loved it - yet, for some inexplicable reason I drifted away from the band.  That's not to say that I forgot about Goat... however:  Bored by the gigabytes of new and old downloads and returning to my CD collection in search for something inspirational, I'd come back to it every so often and, in the last six months or so, with increasing frequency.

Sooner or later though, even the best material wears a little thin and you're compelled to seek out more.  In an attempt to rekindle my old love of black metal, I ventured forth to the CD shelves and found most of what was on offer ultimately uninspiring.  What can I say - I was searching for that particular brand of gentlemanly satanic brutality that only Akercocke could satiate.

Suffice to say their back-catalogue was procured forthwith and while each disc is fantastic in it's own rite right, Chronzon not only deserves a special mention but is a true masterpiece.

All the elements from the oh-so-familiar Goat... are again to be found here - the riff-heavy compositions of blackened death-metal, the sexual lyricism dripping in satanic juices, the sensual yet occultish aesthetic; they're all here once again.  Far more importantly though, are the musical diversities that create that signature sound which are so much more prevalent than on previous releases.  It's easy enough to spot the increased yet intelligent usage of clean vocals that actually add to the atmosphere of a track.  The more obvious incorporation of synths in some tracks and unusual (at least when compared to contemporaries and imitators) orchestrations that conjure images of Stygian mysteries from the east or some arcane ritual, replete with bells and chimes as opposed to the usual trupets and fanfares, is also something that won't be missed by even the most casual listener.  Added to these however, is an element nurtured from their previous work and allowed to blossom into something unique:  The drums not only demonstrate tight blasts and mid-tempo stomps to please any death or black metal fan, but tear into sections of break-beat that, while occasionally made an appearance prior to this release, were never incorporated into the sound to this degree.  What's more - it works.  Syncopated rhythms and ferocious blasts merge seamlessly into these sections that add both respite and chaos in equal measure.

With all this said, this is still most definitely predominantly guitar-driven music.  There are a couple of exceptions, but on the whole the use of keyboards is subtle and complimentary, the drums sit well with the riffs at any chosen moment of the song and the riffs on offer are truly staggering.  When mixed with some, at times seriously beautiful and at others traditionally shredding guitar leads, you've got something pretty fucking awe-inspiring.

Yet it's not just the leads nor merely the calibre of riffage that make this so alluring.  To call this 'blackened death metal' or even 'progressive black/death' or some such banal moniker is an insult.  Far beyond the usual asinine mediocrity churned out under such simplistic labels, Chronzon supersedes it's 'peers' with apparent effortlessness.

Don't get me wrong:  there is black metal here, there is (arguably even more so) death metal and fuck me if this thing isn't truly progressive.  We have a combination of almost every extreme style of metal guitar work imaginable.  In the same breath we move from brutal slams - with the gutturals to match - to droning, open string chord progressions far more in keeping with that 'black metal' sound, by the way of trem-pick and power chord attacks.  This is a melting pot that everything's thrown into but instead of the usual disjointed, unfocused mess, what we end up with is the envy of alchemists.

Yes, it's progressive, yes it's metal (a monolithic, diverse genre in itself), but there's also distinct elements of jazz and electronica, the afore-mentioned break-beat an a myriad of other influences.  When bored with the repetitive similarity of so many metal releases, it's nice to go back to an album that, despite its age, hasn't dated at a day and sounds far more original than so many releases that have followed in it's wake.


Let's just hope they get their shit together and don't keep us waiting too long for some fresh material.

Regurgitate Life - Promo 2011

One-man death metal projects seem to be an increasingly accepted phenomenon. There was a time when such solitary endeavours were almost exclusively limited to the realm of pornogrind with some half-arsed forgettable, badly produced disc being wanked over by individuals with more of an appreciation for 'sick' artwork than musical appreciation.  well, that or black metal. But no longer:  A single vision and a will to succeed despite petit matters like not having enough people of the right calibre to actually form a band getting in the way; uncompromising riffing not held back by the technical (in)abilites of the weakest member, but free to develop as naturally and rigorously as the composer intends; and the technology to make it work live as well as in the studio.

It's inevitable that comparisons with Putrid Pile, Viral Load and their ilk abound. Sammy Urwin's Regurgitate Life, however, is not a mere clone of its forebears.  Building upon the 2010 4-track release 'Condemned From the Beginning', this 2011 promo takes what was previously achieved and surpasses it immeasurably.  The art of composition is one which RL has become a master of.  Nothing by the numbers here; rather a perfect melding of styles and influences to create a unique sound.  Elements of the old and new schools of death metal mesh together to form an audible experience that ranges from chugs and slams to dissonant tremolos and melodic leads which never descend into notes for note's sake but flow together and perfectly complement the two tracks on offer. 

The only downfall of this release is one of production.  While the drums are well programmed, together with the levels of vocals, they tend to dominate the sound a little for my liking, overshadowing some of the phenomenal exceptional riffing .  The guitar sound on the second track also seems muddier than on the opener which doesn't help, causing some of the heavier sections of the track to become a cacophony requiring conscious deciphering.

However, with such well-written material, this is a small criticism.  It’s rare to come across a death metal release with quite this level of genuine feeling combined with a total lack of pretension.  There’s no need for gimmicks when songs are this well-crafted and when there’s this much packed into a mere two tracks, you don’t feel like you’re missing out.  If this material gives an inkling of what a Regurgitate Life full-length will be like, I for one, can’t fucking wait!

Human Filleted - Blunt Force Embludgeonment

Human Filleted – Blunt Force Embludgeonment

Sevared Records (2010)

Sometimes all you want is a bloody slice of brutal death metal. The problem is that so often you're left disappointed; in a world that's literally glutted with bands all trying to be more brutal than the next it's easy for the final result to be lacklustre, unconvincing, musically sub-standard or downright forgettable.

Thankfully, Human Filleted don't suffer from the above problems. This - their second full length outing - proves to be brutal, groovy, chuggy and technical in equal measures. There's nothing here that you won't have heard before, however elements of such titans as Gorguts, Suffocation and Gorgasm are brought together with an undisputed understanding of what makes brutal death metal work. Trem-picked, blasting phrases juxtaposing stomping slams, melodic and at times neoclassical leads scattered liberally throughout, with the occasional breakdown (without becoming some scene-kid's wankathon) this is brutal death metal at its best.

While this is straight up, no-nonsense brutality without a trace of stick-up-the-arse musico-smugness, the faster riffs and, most notably, leads demonstrated by the Christman (Purulent Infection) and Ross combination are outstanding. The fact that the majority of the tracks are based on slams and evil-sounding tremolos just serves to intensify those more technical moments.

Neither do the band shy away from stepping off the tempo once in a while to deliver sinister melodies and brutal grooves - both of which are superbly exemplified on the opening Hooker Cooker; a track which had me hooked (sorry) immediately and sets the scene for what's to follow.

The production is clear, yet chunky - the brutally scooped guitar sound both cutting through like a razor and bolstering a heavy low end that's liable to leave anything not nailed down to go bouncing across shelves and table-tops alike. The bass drums deliver a deep rumble behind a ringing snare and a big tom-sound that reminds you just what a roll's supposed to do while the tight bass binds everything in a tourniquet of old school savagery. Over all of this Christman's gutturals pornographically extol the virtues of gore. Joined on a track each by Shaun LaCanne (Putrid Pile), Damian Leski (Gorgasm) and Anthony Voight (Sarcophagy), the overall vocal performance is given variation which adds to the memorability of tracks that, if your anything like me are going to be stuck in your head for good.

While there will doubtless be those decrying this album for it's unoriginality, this is not a release beset with problems of pretentiousness. This is a brutal death metal album of the old school variety and it doesn't try to be anything else. What it does do, it does brilliantly. The composition's phenomenal; developing seemingly instinctively as well as creating an immersive atmosphere that's sadly lacking in many contemporary releases. From the bludgeoning opener to the final disquieting harmonies of Reduced to Pulp, this release keeps you engaged throughout.

Human Filleted might not be throwing out something hugely innovative but when there's so many bands out there desperately attempting to approximate their influences, these guys demonstrate that they're truly masters of their craft.