FOR THE LOVE OF METAL
For 24 minutes, Inter- roars with the urgency of a timed self-destruct mechanism. Pulse-rifle riffs and leads pour forth in a violent torrent, the drums a pile-driving invocation of horrible, foam-at-the-mouth chaos. All of it an industrial-accident-level cacophony presided over by this voice, this horrible, wonderful oh-you’ve-fucking-had-it-now! madman howl of rage, pain, madness, despair, and enough desperation to choke a vatload of blissed-out science-deniers.
Anyways, this is really only essential for Pagan Altar completists and mega-fans. If you haven’t heard these guys yet, seek out Volume 1 first (or Judgement of the Dead if you happen to find it on vinyl).
I admit when Cryptopsy first crossed my desktop I was hesitant. The clean vocals (and keyboards) of The Unspoken King left a sour taste in my mouth. Not knowing what I was getting myself in to, this self-titled rejuvenation far exceeded any expectations I had. Growing on me with every listen, Cryptopsy is becoming one of the most enjoyable death metal releases of 2012.
Spyhorelandet comprises the kind of unrelenting hopelessness you’ll experience stumbling naked and bleeding though a blizzard after seeing your family devoured by wolves. However, where much of black metal concentrates on diabolic or fantastical pursuits, Formloff are interested in the “ugly personal histories each of us carries”.
Based on The Invisible Mountain and now Half Blood, Horseback has mastered the art of crafting a proper album. The first half has its feet in the dirt, the second half has its eyes on the stars. It manages to cover a lot of stylistic territory, yet it’s a cohesive collection and an effortless listen from start to finish.
Lethal Waters is a surprisingly good take on traditional heavy metal in the vein of Iron Maiden (“Hellraiser”, “Midnight Warrior”, “Hatred’s Maze”) splashed with early 80’s thrash, particularly Megadeth (“Lethal Waters”, “Thunderhead”) and delivered without a hint of parody. This is genuine admiration channeled into a modern interpretation. These lads play from the heart and it shows
I must say, this record kinda snuck up on me, not having heard any of Altar’s previous work. But man, this is some high-quality epic doom, right here. Perhaps the best stuff to come outta Denmark since…
Following in the recent footsteps of Graveyard and Royal Thunder, German trio Kadavar, Tee Pee Records’ latest signing, attempts to bring the 70’s back with their bluesy heavy rock on this, their debut LP. You can’t really give ‘em any points for originality, so it all comes down to execution on this one.
Remember when everything was labelled alternative, and you had to ask “alternative to what?” In this case, I’d call it an alternative to listening to OM on LSD.
A nasty bit of business, this Grime – very nasty indeed: Their album hits like a blanket party, but well worth the contusions it leaves behind.