Spawn of Possession - Incurso (2012)

Hitting the proverbial nail on the head, Spawn of Possession return with their third full-length feeling renewed and refreshed. Since the first two records, the band’s lineup has shifted significantly, but for the better--Incurso is the most addictive culling of spiraling riffing and chaotic song writing since Gorod stepped up to the metal plate with Process of a New Decline in 2009. Similar to their peer, Spawn of Possession take seemingly unapproachable technicality and transform it into something accessible by even the fussiest of metalheads. Technical death metal has only recently been in great commodity, and with the spur in popularity came a flood of subpar groups lacking writing finesse. Nonetheless, the band has their merits; particularly ease of access, and Incurso remains one of the better releases for the subgenre thanks to memorable and proficient compositions.

In fact, Incurso serves as a catalyst for the band to channel their inner creativity. Fusion-like bass playing forms the core underpinning of Spawn of Possession’s sound, and guitars loyally follow unruly drumming in rising and falling alternate picking fashioned with brain-twisting precision. Vocals are typical death metal fare, albeit layered numerous times. High-pitched shrieks loom over growls like Godzilla’s shadow over Tokyo--both mutually applicable to each other--but when separated become a different beast all together. The band occasionally slows down to observe the finer things in life, like spacious clean guitar tones and ominous organ-lead passages, but the bulk of Incurso refuses to let up and stays planted in a frenzied blender.

Goatwhore - Blood for the Master (2012)

Goatwhore's latest, Blood for the Master, continues on the rock solid path the band has been trodding along since Carving Out the Eyes of God with a nice thrashy-influenced culmination of black and death metal. The act's first three records carried a heavy black metal aesthetic, but always fell back on death metal, the next two coming closer to chaotic thrashing. What shocks fans most about the new album, however, is the polished production many black metal groups do not have due to an ongoing tradition: rawness in production. Despite that, Goatwhore manages to hold their own among their peers, reaching an unmatched level of popularity as acknowledgement continues to rise toward their music.

Accept - Stalingrad (2012)

Accept’s last record, Blood of the Nations, was met with vicious acclaim from the metal community because it was the band’s first album in 14 years, all together too long for a group of such recognition to be without new material. Since 2010, Udo’s coarsely polarizing vocals have been missing from fold and replaced by Mark Tornillo’s snarling, putting forth a change that has forever cemented Accept’s comeback into the hard ‘n’ heavy kingdom. 2012’s Stalingrad continues the tradition Blood of the Nations began, but the album presents itself in a more melodically chic way because the band has rebounded into a set routine. Still, some fans complain about Udo’s absence, but nary an argument exists that reveals inferiority on Mark’s part. In fact, his technical superiority is not disputable. 

Check Out: Deluhi

Essentially unknown to the masses, Deluhi broke up last year, the four members leaving little behind as they moved on to pursue solo ventures or team up with other projects. Their music leaves me scratching my head because it merges various metal subgenres (and hard rock) with a light dusting of hardcore; the mixture hardly works for every band that forces the two together, but, for the most part, it pans out in the Deluhi's favor. The group released a number of singles and one album, which is sadly their entire legacy but quite a feat for a quick three years of existence.

So far, the track that gets my stamp of approval is "Departure" because it has a very old school hard rock and metal feel, but with a modern zest that makes it accessible for contemporary music fans. Unfortunately, the vocals are terribly fragile and not the throaty, hairy variety that fit well with '80s-influenced shred rock. Despite its shortcomings, though, the song reminds of a time when metal was about something other than technical ability or heavy just for the sake of being heavy. In my book, that makes Deluhi and the rest of their discography worth a look, in spite of the differences their material may have across the board.

-TMA

Testimony - Transcending Reality (2012)

Home grown Indiana thrashers Testimony combine elements of thrash and progressive metal, yielding a sort of spacey travel through time that rips like any other band from '80s. The band's first release, Transcending Reality, borrows heavily from what came over 20 years ago, but places a lengthy twist on the music, often with drawn out sections and technical bonuses. I can't help but be reminded of Pestilence's material when I give Testimony's debut a spin because of the jazzy, fusion-like sections that dip into other musical genres.

Surprisingly, Testimony is a rookie band, and while that may not cross your mind upon first listen, the real hint lay in the production which sounds thin, almost like a step back to the '80s when thrash was popular enough that any act could come up with a record deal. Although Testimony doesn't quite fall into the trap, they feel like a second tier band in terms of song writing and hookiness. Melody is sufficient enough that you might be able to find something to latch onto, but an inherent lack of direction is missing from the band's music that is absolutely essential to reel listeners in for repeated listens. This is largely attributed to the progressive nature, which becomes no walk in the park, and pushes writing to second base in favor of lengthiness adopted by acts that don't know when to hang their instruments up. As far as I'm concerned, progressive does not always mean extended song lengths--a portion of the EP would benefit from a good trimming.

Unisonic - Unisonic (2012)

Legendary ex-Helloween team, Michael Kiske and Kai Hansen, along with Pink Cream 69 accomplice, Dennis Ward, are back at the game called rock with a new power metal and hard rock project called Unisonic. Their debut, cleverly sharing the same name, pokes fun at Kiske and Hansen’s time in Helloween, but never awakens the classic power metal beast that emerged in the mid ‘80s when the two unknowingly influenced thousands of bands. Conventional for the subgenre were soaring choruses, floating melodies, and a whole lotta harmonized guitar leads, and for Unisonic, most of that sticks, but the fundamental change lay with the inclusion of poppy chorus hooks and hard rock-type song writing that dominates the majority of the album. Nevertheless, Helloween’s softer Euro-based power metal sound, an alternative to the more aggressive, thrashy U.S. brand, has always been about catchiness, so perhaps the existing direction remains less surprising to some veteran listeners. 

The Metal Advisor Interviews Cleaver

 

One of The Metal Advisor's most exciting moments on the glorious metal journey [so far!] has been interviewing Cleaver, who are, simply put, a looney group of guys. The Metal Advisor had the chance to hear from Andreas (guitars), Espen (drums), and Øyvind (guitars), three of the five band members, who not only provided insight as to what's going on in their world but highly opinionated and amusing thoughts on all things metal. As with any good interview, the questions and the answers do the talking--just make sure you check out Cleaver's newest album as soon as it hits cyberspace. We're in for a monster. 

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Hello, Cleaver! What is the band's status right now?

  

Still tired after four days of metal and beer at the Inferno Metal Festival where we shared the stage with Magister Templi and Solstorm. We have also been celebrating, and celebrating means more beer, how the Easter bunny died on the cross for our sins. In Cleaver, we try to sin a lot so his death won’t be for nothing.

How and when did Cleaver form? Why did you decide you wanted to play thrash and death metal?

It all started up one or two years ago when Øyvind and Espen were performing satanic rituals before a rehearsal with the death metal band Chton. A great demonic voice told us to create Cleaver. We did what we were told, and since we had made a lot of killer riffs that didn’t fit into Chton, it all felt like the right thing to do. In Cleaver, we do our blasphemy more inspired by heavy, thrash and old school death metal, while Chton is more dark and brutal death metal. To us, at least, they sound like two completely different bands, and we haven’t heard complaints from the dark demonic voices of the underworld so far.

Cleaver has two songs recorded right now. Are they digital-only or do you have a physical release?

We actually have a complete album of satanic tunes ready for our debut album called When There’s No More Room in Hell..., but so far, we’ve only spread two of the songs on the internet. We would encourage metal labels out there to perform satanic rituals in near future. We know there’s at least one demon, if not Satan himself, that will recommend Cleaver, but if we don’t get a deal with a label soon, we will release the album by ourselves as a physical release. We’re old school metalheads, and a physical release is the only thing that counts. Fuck downloading and mp3s. 

Dismemberment - Denied Salvation (2012)

Thanks to Mr. Gogmagogical, I've been exposed to one of the most pleasurable collections of music this year, surprisingly in the form of an EP, but excellent despite my stereotypes against the format. There's no doubt I'm guilty of gazing over an EP and assuming the release is going to be something less than a full-length or nothing more than a newbie attempt to establish an identity in a music scene. I must say, however, the prejudice appears only if the band is new or has little experience under their proverbial belt, but, honestly, Dismemberment sidesteps the amateur part of the equation and hits a home run with their second showing. The band's first record was an effort to cement their blackened thrash metal roots in place, but Denied Salvation improves upon the formula in all the right areas and ends up checking the correct boxes for a thrashin' good time.

While there is nary a track fit for mass consumption on Denied Salvation, "Perpetual Malice" was put forth by the band as a freebie, presumably because the opening riff is a monster of epic proportions (not quite thrash metal, but not exactly black metal either). I assume Dismemberment had the accessibility factor in mind when considering the track as a "single" because it mixes all the ingredients for keeping the door wide open to newcomers toward a hybridization of two metal subgenres. Denied Salvation's first track, "Last Rites" takes the typical black metal chord stylings, but builds a thrashy base around them--numerous sections of the song provide perfect example of black metal, so much that you might think it's approaching full-blown frosty grimness, instead of making a beeline toward a rabid pile of thrash riffing.

The Metal Advisor Interviews S.L.U.R

Unfortunately for the majority of metalheads, Japanese metal stays relatively unknown to the outside world, save a few select groups, and as you would expect, S.L.U.R is no exception to the rule. The band is composed of a mere two members: Tappi, who takes on axe-wielding duties, and Avenger, who fills in the bottom of the mix with her clanky bass lines. The duo hit the ground running earlier this year with the release of their first EP, Invisible Sun, and are poised to make a splash throughout Japan as they begin to spread their name by playing live shows. Let's find out more.

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All right, I always begin interviews in a similar fashion--and for good reason! Can you give us some background on S.L.U.R? Did you two meet through a shared passion for metal?

Yes, we met through a shared passion for metal. We noticed that our favorite musicians are very alike, so we were able to head in the same direction of heavy metal music. We basically formed together to realize an ideal metal music.

What drew you to heavy metal?

Tappi - Beautiful melodies, gorgeous performances, and the feeling of emotion from musicians' hearts. That's what grabs me about the music.

Avenger - An elevated, high feeling, tremendous level of skill, and being a leader in every part. And because metal puts together fieriness and heaviness.

S.L.U.R ready to take on the metal world.

Sadly, I'm not fortunate enough to be able to understand much Japanese, but I love the language all the same. Is there any hidden meaning behind your song titles? "On the Motor Bike" seems like it falls in line with what classic artists use as subject matter for their music.

Yes, you are right. "On the Motor Bike" is conscious of Deep Purple's "Highway Star." "Highway Star" is a song about a car, but "On the Motor Bike" is a song about a motor bike, which makes our track like a bike version of Deep Purple's song. We don't really have any other hidden meaning behind song titles. This is the first and only one so far.

What's the story behind S.L.U.R.'s name? I've been very curious about that since I discovered your music through Metal-Archives.

The official name of S.L.U.R is Seventh Link & Ultimate Ray. Seventh is used in various countries' myths, and it is our lucky number. Link expresses the bond of our companions who help us, and ray is taken from Gamma Ray because we love them. We were born into the metal scene with the ultimate ray.

3 Inches of Blood - Long Live Heavy Metal (2012)

3 Inches of Blood have always been a fascinating band because, despite having an original line-up hooked on hardcore music, the group played a fusion of heavy and power metal, albeit with a few stylistic exceptions like secondary vocalist Jamie Hooper. Even so, Hooper left the band sometime in 2008 due to vocal complications, leading the metal act to break the shackles of their confinement as they progressed or faltered in sound depending on whom one asks. Two firmly rooted camps divide 3 Inches of Blood fanatics: those that consider pre-2009 material a zenith of achievement, while the rest enjoy 2009 and onward thanks to the departure of Hooper. Musically, 3 Inches of Blood have stayed true to their roots for their 13-year existence, but the inclusion or lack of a vocalist was all it took to create rifts among fans.

Since the loss of Jamie Hooper, 3 Inches of Blood continue to move in the direction of what they first set out for, aspirations running higher to become a classical example of a heavy metal band. Here Waits Thy Doom began the shift, but Long Live Heavy Metal cements the change in place as the Canadians soldier on without hardcore vocals--which were always a supplement to Cam Pipes piercing highs--and put emphasis on soaring, seemingly unreachable singing feats. Although Pipe’s falsetto has traditionally acted as a spearhead, harsh vocals are peppered sparingly across the compositions, but never overbearing as they were in the past. The accommodating balance for fewer abrasives allow 3 Inches of Blood’s music to breathe, instead of obscuring instrumentals under the shrill, bossy scream of a microphone-hogging maniac. 

Carcinogen - Unholy Aggression (2010)

Part of the reason I love Carcinogen's Unholy Aggression is because it remembers ye olden days of death metal, back when the music was about assaulting the enemy, blitzkrieg, and atmosphere. Although the group's third release sports an immaculate production, it does so with individuality, mostly because the bass's clank is at the heart of the mix and, sadly, nearly unheard of by today's metal producing standards. Carcinogen's music recollects on primitive times, which are apparent as the late '80s and early '90s when extreme metal was emerging as a prominent force in the underground. By doing so, it pays homage to what came beforehand by outfitting itself with an explosive combination of death and thrash metal. Slayer, Morbid Angel, and Pestilence-type riffs are easily picked out of the murky, yet morbid aesthetic and bear slight resemblance to the Swedish death metal guitar tone popular over 20 years ago, but Carcinogen fashions it to the Floridian side of the spectrum akin to Morbid Angel, as well as Decide and others. While I ordinarily write music like this off as a sort of tribute, these Long Islander's material is a much welcomed modern interpretation of death metal's long-lasting heritage.

Predictably, the band's EP sounds extremely similar for its 25 minute duration, with the occasional break for a melodic oasis, but one has to keep in mind that the archetypical death metal model has never been about variation. Unholy Aggression's strength lies in ironing out the little imperfections that have popped up in the subgenre over the years, and though it still isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, the release remains an enjoyable slab of metal that builds upon what has already been established. In an era largely lacking originality, Carcinogen refreshes a sound that is making a comeback to the metal masses.

-TMA

Lezlie Paice - Fightin' Man (1983)

The cover of Lezlie Paice's lone release Fightin' Man is puzzling because it resembles the product of a child's imagination and not that of a heavy metal band. Looking at the art, you'll see a crudely drawn monster--which I assume was their mascot--against a spacey, bottomless backdrop that recalls the absolutely uninspired nature of the music. I suppose I'm bitter toward Lezlie Paice because I wanted to uncover a heavy metal gem amidst all the bands that I had glazed over already, but their single is not the revelation I hoped it would be. Instead, these Swedes' preferred style of music treads dangerously close to hard rock territory and backhands innovation in favor of playing it safe. The end result yields an unfortunate combination of forgettable and lackluster song writing.

Fightin' Man's songs don't deviate far in sound from one another, with the title track midpaced heavy metal devoid of stimulation and inspiration; and the other full of happy-go-luckiness that I find curiously annoying. Nonetheless, they're both based around a tried and true formula, which was done much better by their contemporary, Torch, who carried the torch (no pun intended) with far better song writing. While the Swedish wave of heavy metal from the '80s certainly cultivated gems, Lezlie Paice is not one of those and is best swept back into the depths of time, only for the brave souls who want to waste a few minutes on an archaic record that harkens back to the once muddled Scandinavian metal scene.

-TMA