Genre: Symphonic/Atmospheric Black Metal
Label: Candlelight Records
Released: 24th January
Reviewer: Monish Shringi
Originating from Phoenix, Arizona and now settled in Los Angeles, Abigail Williams have released their third full length album entitled ‘Becoming’. Vocalist/Guitarist Ken Sorceron has pretty much handled all production aspects of this album. I personally haven’t been a big fan of this band but the new album does have something in store for my liking. After their second full length, the band identifies black metal as their primary genre of music, breaking a shift from metalcore. After several comparisons with Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth, the new album may finally lead this band into having a sound of their very own.
“Ascension Sickness”, the first track of the album, begins with a nice atmospheric intro and heads in straight with shredded guitars and blast beats. In the first half, the vocals seemed to be slightly damped and unclear. They could have been raised to a better extent as compared to what the song has to offer. The latter half consists of a mix of clean and distorted guitars, demonic vocals and a more emphatic finishing.
The next two songs, “Radiance” and “Elestial” seem to have somewhat of a doom influence, and that mixture with black metal is something what the band has managed to pull off quite well. The vocals were better structured and sounded more to what one would expect.
“Infinite Fields of Mind” has a very enjoyable and delicate clean intro with a cool atmospheric background. The song had a good overall balance of clean and heavy and a solid traditional black metal outro. There’s a small interlude track which finally leads to the last last track in the album entitled, “Beyond the Veil”, which has to be my favourite. There were a lot of Nordic influences in the interlude and the final track, of which the band is also constantly recognised for. The melodic guitar licks along with the Nordic orchestrations, sounded warm, gentle and profound. They were once again mixed really well with the black metal components.
Overall, the band developed a more mature and concrete sound as compared to their previous efforts. I will definitely recommend this to anyone who is a fan of black, doom and symphonic metal. The intros and outros were well rounded off along with the primary black metal dominance. It has to be said that if the band continue in this manner, there are definitely greater aspects to look forward to.
Genre: Thrash Metal
Label: Relapse Records
Release-date: July 19th, 2011
Reviewer: Monish Shringi
When you hear of a band named Toxic Holocaust, you know you’re in for something extremely aggressive, heavy, skull crushing and destructive. And it’s very much so. Formed in 1999, the band started with a few demos and splits, before finally releasing their debut album “Evil Never Dies” in 2003. Joel Grind has been their main protagonist, writing and recording all of their material right from their debut album to “Hell on Earth” in 2005 and “An Overdose of Death” in 2008. However, their latest release entitled “Conjure and Command” features a full line-up instead of Grind doing all instruments and vocals by himself.
The new album has a very aggressive and dark tone. It features both fast and slow tempo songs, which I believe is a good balance and is appreciated by most listeners. I couldn’t help but notice the similarities in the artwork as compared to that of Behemoth’s “Evangelion”, but it sticks to the overall theme quite well. The guitar tone is quite warm, which suits the style perfectly. I quite enjoyed Grinds’ mushy yet distinctive vocals throughout the album.
The album kicks off with “Judgement Awaits”, a non-remorseful, thrashy and hard hitting track which will instantly get heads shaking. There seemed to be quite a lot of Slayer and Exodus influence, especially in the tracks “Nowhere to Run” and “In the Depths(Of Your Mind)”, yet they both are equally unique in their own ways. I’m quite a fan of dark, groovy and slow tempo songs, so the tracks “Agony of the Damned” and “I Am Disease” were much to my fondness. Solos on the album were quite enjoyable, although they could have been longer and more iconic.
My favourite song in the album had to be “Bitch”. It is a must hear for every metal head out there! It’s one of those which truly define the elements of rage, aggression and violence. Personally, it made me want to run a riot and shatter glass endlessly.
Overall, this album brought about a more developed and mature sound as compared to the previous albums. The tracks sounded more complete, broad and provided an efficient overall finish. An avid thrash metal fan certainly cannot miss this, especially if you tend to listen to a lot of Exodus, Kreator, Slayer and Venom.
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
Label: Lifeforce Records
Release-date: September 26th (Europe), September 27th (US)
Reviewer: Monish Shringi
Back in 2000, close friends Marios Illiopoulos and Gus G. (yes Gus G.) formed the super group Nightrage. They managed to get the services of Tomas Lindberg (At The Gates) on vocal duty and session drummer Per Möller Jensen (The Haunted) and released their first album entitled “Sweet Vengeance” in 2003. After the departure of Lindberg and Gus.G, Nightrage went through several line-up changes, with Marios being the only founding member left. Their present line-up consists of Antony Hämäläinen on vocals, Illiopoulous and Olof Mörck on guitars, Anders Hammer on bass and Johan Nunez on drums. This line-up has remained the same since the release of “Wearing a Martyrs Crown” in 2007. Despite the changes, the band has managed to keep a consistent level of sound with all their releases till date.
With their fifth and latest full-length release, entitled “Insidious”, Nightrage look set to conquer the melodic death metal scene once again. They have never failed to impress me, and neither does their new sound. Frontman Antony Hämäläinen recently said in an interview that, "It sounds really heavy, stripped down and in your face. The songs are a bit shorter and with fewer acoustic guitars than Wearing a Martyr’s Crown. It’s a very pissed of sound, so it’s going to be a really heavy record. Lots of guitar solos and melodies there too of course.” And he has said rightly so. The new album is a perfect balance of insane guitar riffs, melodic licks and solos, progressive cleans and some nice acoustic breakdowns. The album consists of fifteen tracks, so there’s no excuse of shortages.
I was very impressed with the clean vocals on this album, even more than Wearing a Martyrs Crown, thanks to guest vocals by Apollo Papathanasio (Firewind, Spiritual Beggars) and Tom. S . Englund (Evergrey). Tomas Lindberg has provided guest vocals on three tracks in this album, along with two solos by Gus G., thus making this album the first to feature the original line-up since “Sweet Vengeance” dating back to 2003.
“Insidious” has thoroughly managed to astound the listener in all facets. Songs like “Delirium of the Fallen”,” Wrapped in Deceitful Dreams”, and “Solar Corona” are simply heart-warming and will make you fall in love instantly. Nightrage have delivered what one would call "an hour of melodic brilliance.” Definitely one of the releases of the year and the one to look out for!
Order "Insidious" now via Amazon: CD | Mp3
Genre: Blackened Death Metal
Label: Candlelight Records
Release-date: October 4th, 2011
Reviewer: Monish Shringi
Absu have been a prominent figure in the Black Metal scene since the early 90’s. Their sound is full of crunching black metal riffs, hardcore blast beats and shredding guitar solos, just what you need to expect of a veteran black metal band. Originating from Texas, their current line-up consists of lead vocalist and drummer Russley Randell Givens aka “Proscriptor McGovern”, bassist and second vocalist Paul “Ezezu” Williamson and guitarist Matt “Vis Crom” Moore.
After the release of their critically acclaimed 2009 self-titled album, Absu are back once again with their second part of a “planned trilogy of recordings” titled “Abzu”. The band has shown constant growth and development in their sound, varying from brutal black metal to classical acoustic and atmospheric breakdowns. I am beginning to enjoy their music even more.
The first track on the album, called “Earth Ripper” is a fast tempo, thrash influenced masterpiece. The vocals are significantly varied, ranging from low gutturals all the way to some Rob Halford-like falsettos. The guitars are fast, well-structured and easily catch the ear. It’s well worthy of being the intro track and will surely raise some eye brows.
The second song, entitled “Circles of the Oath” is by far one of the best songs I’ve heard by Absu. It sets the standard, as it shows what each member is capable of in their own individual aspects. The song begins with some hard hitting, heaving sounding blast beats with nasty tremolo picking, followed by nice melodic melodies and finally ending with some classical acoustic guitars, not to forget the brutality of the vocals. This song has it all: black metal fans' galore.
The last track on the album has been actually divided into six sub-tracks. Each sub-track delivers the aforementioned development and growth of this band.
In all honesty, it was hard for me to pick out criticisms despite being a black metal listener.”Abzu” has definitely lived up to all its hype. Insane guitar riffs, classic black metal vocals and earth pounding drums are all and well part of it. Black Metal fans cannot afford to miss this out!
"Abzu" drops October 4th via Candlelight Records. Pre-order the album via Amazon: CD | Mp3
