I believe that this month's short reviews contain one of the most diverse selection of artists ever. Nothing can make me more happy than seeing the blog being recipient of promos covering different genres !
Buried Realm - Buried Realm
It is the second time that a release by Buried Realm finds its way in the blog mailbox and my assessment is similar as the previous one. Modern melodic Death metal which is primarily driven by the excellent guitar work and the catchiness of the songs. Of course the mandatory Iron Maiden references are strongly present but without this becoming by any means annoying. Buried Realm have all the elements to become popular amongst the fans of the sub-genre and I cannot see a reason for this not happening...
Ratos De Porao - Necropolitica
Unfortunately, I was not able to find a Bandcamp link for the new release from Brazilian Hardcore legends Ratos De Porao so I will settle with Youtube and Spotify...
I do not think that RDP need many introductions, a legendary band known for their persistence and faith to their values and beliefs and of course nothing different should be expected from their new release apart from the metal elements having taken the lead over punk this time. Nevertheless Necropolitica is still one of the best Thrash/Hardcore releases of the year !
Eggs of Gomorrh - Wombspreader
Black Metal from Switzerland but please expect no Samael influences, atmospheric parts or other experimentations here. Eggs of Gomorrh play raw and brutally and their "in-your-face' Black metal can be only classified under the early-Marduk/Antaeus school, leaving no prisoners behind...
Lia Hide - The Missing Fourth Guest
Receiving this promo was a (very) pleasant surprise for me ! Lia Hide names her music as Dark Pop however in my opinion the final result is less dark and gothic than other artists like Zola Jesus, Chelsea Wolfe, Emma Ruth Rundle or A. A. Williams (and I am only mentioning these references because this is what the term Dark Pop set as expectation to my brain for a first listening).
Thankfully, her artistic output is more Jazz than rock oriented and influenced and this in my opinion works only as an advantage offering a sense of originality to her material...
Sleepless - Host Desecration
Sleepless are some sort of super group including members of 80’s death metal pioneers Dead Conspiracy, Eric Dorsett and Eric Detablan, who have joined forces with their old friend and guitarist, singer and production machine (sic) Kevin Hahn.
If there is one band that they bring to mind are Slauter Xstroyes, ie they are progressive but without compromising aggressiveness and energy making their power metal reach at certain moments the borders of Techno-thrash ! Great guitar work is - of course- present here making Host Desecration one of the best traditional Heavy Metal albums of this year!
Truent - Through The Vale of Earthly Torment
Truent come from Canada and play Technical Death metal - one of my favourite sub-genres - and obviously, having found a place in this month's reviews implies that they do it well ! Some Djent parts are also present but this does not diminish the overall quality.
Cavernancia - Manto
Cavernancia is the project of Portuguese Pedro Roque a photographer, musician, music lover and breaker of new paths for extreme music (as he describes himself). Manto is a 35 min track release that has been released only in cassette format.
Drone music may be not my area of expertise (or even preference) however purely objectively I cannot ignore the virtues of Manto. Cosmic, dark and at certain parts asphyxiating heavy it managed to keep my attention and interest during the time I had devoted to its listening...
Heruka - Memorie
Another Black metal release for this month coming from Italian Heruka which however follow a more melodic path compared to Eggs of Gomorrh. Lovers of the Greek Black metal sound -like me- will adore this. Aggressiveness perfectly combined with melody providing a wonderful final result !
Hifiklub/Iggor Cavalera/Alain Johannes/Scorpion Dagger - Scorpklub I & II
Hifiklub are one of the bands that have been very regularly reviewed in this blog and personally I feel very honoured being in their promos' distribution list! Their new release is actually the recording of the ScorpKlub project with the help of prominent guests (as will be mentioned later).
Quoting some info about the project from the press release :
The inspiration for the ScorpKlub project was to create unique works, using the remarkable collection of Toulon Art Museum's as a palette, through a multidisciplinary exchange of sound and moving image. Hifiklub responded in music to the digital collages created by James Kerr, who mischievously altered twenty artworks ranging from the 15th to the beginning of the 20th century, from the museum's permanent collection. The work of assembling the visuals took place in James Kerr's studio in Montreal, whereas the musical component to the project was created in two stages: - The first recording session took place at the end of January 2021 at Coxinhell studio in Saint-Aygulf, with Iggor Cavalera (MixHell, Cavalera Conspiracy, Pet Brick, co-founder of Sepultura) recording remotely. This session resulted in ten original compositions, to which Kerr animated his videos to. - The second stage of Hifiklub took place in Toulon on July 2 and 3, 2021 during the Murex Festival, with the remote participation of Alain Johannes (Queens of the Stone Age, Them Crooked Vultures, Eleven). This session of sound research and recording was done in front of a live audience, to which the music was created in response to ten premade animations created by Kerr. ScorpKlub I & II will be broadcasted in 2022 on the internet in the form of two seasons: one with Iggor Cavalera + one with Alain Johannes.
Coming to the musical aspect of the project, the influences are multiple and diverse (owing much to the guests of the project I would say). The listener can trace ambient, jazz, doom, noise and even metal elements however all these are creatively blended generating a result that can be used either as cinematic soundtrack or as a regular listening...
#BuriedRealm #RatosDePorao #EggsOfGomorrh #LiaHide #Sleepless #Truent #Cavernancia #Heruka #HifiklubIggorCavaleraAlainJohannesScorpionDagger