Recent Hauls Part 8

Oh yes. This stash is mostly composed of records I've been wanting to get my hands on for some time now. The Vader obsession continues with The Ultimate Incantation and Impressions in Blood bringing the collection to four albums. I seriously think Vader might be my favorite band right now, and if they decide they are going to hit up the USA on tour for Welcome to the Morbid Reich, I'd probably freak out and immediately find a way to get tickets short of selling one of my organs. As for Sigh, I mostly grabbed Scenes from Hell because the other two albums I have are flawless and purely avant-garde in nature, something that could only come from the twistedly awesome mind of Mirai, and because Sigh's new record is due out in about a week. I'm never joking around when I say some of the best metal in the world comes from Japan. And lastly, Goatwhore's newest was purchased on a random whim based on gogmagogical's latest review, as well as A Haunting Curse's status as the first death metalish album I bought on my own. 2006 seems like it was so long ago...

1. Scenes from Hell is no different than Sigh's previous albums in terms of concept. I reckon for most people the band's music will be too odd upon first listen and may slightly sour them on Sigh--the mix and match of genres is what some might call an acquired taste, suitably eclectic to accomplish the desired goal of constructing a new take on metal, but not simply done just for the sake of being done. Mirai and friends are among the Einsteins of our favorite music, which in my eyes is an accomplishment in and of itself, and I remain psyched for each new Sigh release I'm able to get my hands on. Scenes from Hell is probably one of the most musically over-the-top albums I've added to my growing collection, and while the production does tend to mask many of the parts, you discover something new every time you spin the record. Occasionally an atypical production is key to mixing the pot to craft something new.

2. I'll fully admit that Goatwhore's name is terrible. I've firmly held that opinion since 2006 when I stumbled upon their music on XM satellite radio, but that's just it: I let the music do the talking instead of a stupid little moniker. So far, I'm immensely enjoying Blood for the Master as there is a thumb more black metal than the last one and it appears to be more uniform than A Haunting Curse, although only time will tell if that assessment sticks. I particularly like the inclusion of black metal aesthetics mashed with thrash and death metal elements. I suppose it would be appropriate to label Goatwhore and this release blackened death or thrash metal because the band certainly isn't black metal in its purest form, which shows strength in overlapping subgenres. Despite Goatwhore's rising popularity, they've stayed true to their roots and ripened with age. Elitists can walk the plank; their princess is clearly in a different castle.

3. This is exactly what I expected because Vader is one of the most consistent in the business. Impressions in Blood is the same idea in terms of quality, much like Welcome to the Morbid Reich and Litany, but with each track taking a slightly different approach to Peter's formula, ultimately resulting in the same ol' Vader we know and love. I'd argue that if you've heard any lick of the band's material, you'll have an idea of what this is going to sound like, which involves impressive musicianship, catchy song structuring, and blazing drumming. If anything, give "Helleluyah!!! (God Is Dead)" a listen because it's among the most memorable death metal you'll ever hear. Too bad about the horrid cover art.

4. Dropping in 1993 during the golden age of death metal, The Ultimate Incantation is Vader's first full-length. The sound is still recognizable as Vader, but it's rawer and primitive when compared with the band's later releases. Peter's vocals are much deeper than they are today, reaching terribly low into the realms of growling, and the music is still the same thrashy death metal madness I've come to love the band for. The Ultimate Incantation is somewhat atmospheric when compared with the later albums, which I find myself often longing for when listening to Vader over and over and over as I'm known to do. Sterile productions are largely the culprit. Death metal of the early period always had a certain attitude surrounding it that captured the enthusiasm and charisma radiating from the young subgenre.

-TMA

Recent Hauls Part 7

1. &$%#! This one came to me with a cracked case. No matter how perfect Amazon may seem as a vendor, you can't ever trust the shipping company. *Sigh* Luckily, the music is pleasant, if not a tad on the more mellow side of what I was expecting. As far as I know, Shining's music is usually stereotypical black metal, but this release strikes me as a nominal approach to the subgenre, stripped of what typically defines black metal, resulting in extreme metal that's just outside of the norm. Because I'm not familiar with any of Shining's other work, this is good enough for me, and I've been enjoying VI - Klagopsalmer immensely. Excellent cover art, too.

2. Oh man, this one has been on my list forever. Literally years. It's odd that I neglected to pick up Sodom's Tapping the Vein all this time because first impressions tell me this is one of the best thrash albums released in the '90s, bar none. It's amazing Sodom cranked the record out because other bands in the time period completely watered down or changed their sound to fit in with what the people "wanted." Tapping the Vein is vicious, diabolical, and heinous - it takes no prisoners and rips your face off. Considering the band's record of consistency, it's no surprise the album is as amazing as it is. Plus, Angelripper's vocals are downright savage. HIGHLY recommended, and a wonderful successor to Sodom's classic material, although this is arguably a classic itself.


3. After my recent [ongoing] obsession with Vader's Welcome to the Morbid Reich, I figured it was time pick up the next best thing in their discography, the well-regarded Litany. It absolutely lives up to the hype because it's every bit as devastating as the Welcome to the Morbid Reich, yet it's sprinkled with a different flavor that gives it its own unique feel, if not slightly contrasting to what I've heard of other Vader material. I adore the riffs, vocals, and songwriting, but the production could use improvement, particularly the bass drum, which wouldn't sound out of place in an electronic music song. It's much too loud, but that's a small price to pay for exceptional music. 


4. Funnily enough, I had Vreid's Milorg in my Amazon cart when a friend recommended it to me. These Norwegian black metallers lean toward the melodic side of the subgenre, which is refreshing when you consider the amount of raw and abrasive black metal acts unleashing their "genius" upon the metal world. Vreid's lyrics center around Norwegian resistance to the Nazis in World War II, so my inner history nerd is automatically satisfied without hearing the music but, really, the compositions are the real meat of the record, making you want to come back for more. Much like Shining's album, this one needs more to time to sink in with me, but I definitely love what I'm hearing. 

5. While every album in this haul has been satisfying to an immense degree, the actual jewel is Evocation's Dead Calm Chaos. I vividly remember watching the music video for "Tomorrow has no Sunrise" on Youtube countless times back in 2008, but when I went to purchase the album, it was grossly overpriced due to being an import. When I was surfing Amazon to buy the albums above,  I remembered Dead Calm Chaos, searched it, and was thrilled to find its price down to normal levels, so I tacked it onto the group. The record hasn't let me down, and I'm spinning it at least once every couple days. Supremely heavy guitar riffs, thick vocals, and a sound bridging the gap between death metal and melodic death metal? Yes please. These Swedish metallers have it all. 


-TMA

Vader - Welcome to the Morbid Reich (2011)

Let's preface this by saying this might well darned be album of the year. Prior to this record's release, I had very little exposure to Vader, but I was always intrigued by something about them, particularly their reputation as death metal veterans alongside Morbid Angel, Obituary, Death, and similar influential bands in the subgenre. Vader had the "it" factor if you will, but I never got around to checking them out, which, to be honest, only hurt me because I missed out on some bloody exciting music. And not only that, I assume Welcome to the Morbid Reich's cover art pushed me over the edge with its positively old school vibe that oozes originality in an age filled with sterile computer-generated images. From an artistic standpoint, even the album cover is a plus to the experience.

But first thing's first: Welcome to the Morbid Reich is quite a pleasant introduction to the realms of death metal and Vader in general--its brutality kicks you in the face and keeps you down and out, but for some reason you still come back for more. The first day I had the album, I must have spun it, at the very least, five times because with each listen it grew better and better, more listenable and attractive from an aural stand point. The last metal record I remember having such an attachment to showed its face over two years ago, and that's saying something because I typically don't get overly addicted to an record. Songs, yes. An entire album? Less frequently. Really, only once in a blue moon does such a thing happen.

Vader has thrown everything you know and love about death metal into the collective melting pot with Welcome to the Morbid Reich, but with unmatched imagination and creativity. Guitars, which range from chuggier pieces to rapid tremolo picking to extremely thrashy riffs are king of the hill and reminiscent of the early days of death metal. In short, there's nothing tedious about the album when you consider how accomplished it is musically. The drums do an excellent job of driving the music with break neck fills and devilishly possessed double bass pounding, and the bass, while never deviating far from the guitar, follows alongside at a sort of hypersonic speed. Melodious guitar solos contrast and grace the mix with expertise. The accomplished musicianship is likely due to the fact that the only original member, Peter (Piotr Paweł Wiwczarek), has opted to gather a group of younger musicians who are proficient and efficient at their craft, offering a breath of fresh air into Vader's brand of death metal. Of course, he is no slouch himself as he plays guitar and bass, on top of that offering his growled vocals. But we can ponder the question: without Peter would Vader really be Vader? I think not. For a 46 year old man, he is unquestionably at the top of his metal game.

Each track on Welcome to the Morbid Reich is flawlessly composed, compositions ranging from blindingly speedy numbers to more subdued but aggressive pieces like "Black Velvet and Skulls of Steel," with its cranium crushing palm-muted guitar riff. Even the intro tracks "Ultima Thule" and "They Are Coming..." are delightful because they create intense buildups to the metal sustenance following them. As a whole, the band sounds very tight as if they've been playing together for years--in reality, every musician barring Peter made their first appearance on the record. It's remarkable when you think about it.

As I put my thoughts to this post, I spun Vader's newest. It's still as strong as the day I received it in the mail, showing no signs of creeping boredom that threatens to rear its head when you know you've worn out a record out by playing it too much. Dare I say it, I'll continue to play this album at least once a day for a few more months. I played it multiple times when I strolled through the gardens of Versailles, and I played it when I wrote a 15 page paper. Heck, I even play it when I'm laying in bed at night. What it really boils down to is my personal playlist including it multiple times a day. It's rare I can say that about a record. As Darth Vader would say: "The force is strong with this one."

Don't miss out, folks.

-TMA

Epic Mailday!

Good mailday, folks.

I finally gave up on searching for the new Skeletonwitch album in stores, so I ended up nabbing it off Amazon. I couldn't resist grabbing a few other albums with it - let's see what I got.

The first record, Vader's Welcome to Morbid Reich, has been on my list since I heard a cut from the tracklisting a few months ago. Actually, these Polish death metallers have been on my radar for a few years now because they're one of the old school death metal bands everyone tells you to check out; it just took me a little longer to get around to doing it. You know how it is: there's endless sea of great music to get sidetracked with. And boy, does this record slay. I suppose the cover art fits the title nicely, but the Nazi-inspired theme gives me the creeps. Vader isn't Neo-Nazi in any way, however, and the old school vibe to the art is nice. Purchase success!


Going against my personally set morals, I downloaded the new Skeletonwitch record because I couldn't find it in any store within reasonable driving distance. Shame on me. Typically, I'm against all forms of downloading for one reason or another (You've read my posts ranting on the subject. I'll spare you this time.), but I'll tell you, I was dying to hear the Forever Abomination. The 'witch doesn't have a bad release to their name, and this record isn't any different. Glad I finally have a physical copy of it because those sweet, sweet Lossless files will sound glorious through my audio setup. 

The next record was a blind buy - well, I take that back. Not quite. I sampled a few of the tracks on Amazon and liked what I heard: pure Dissection worship. Sometimes a band's imitation of another doesn't come out as satisfactory as one might hope, but all the goods are firmly in place with this one. Dissection ain't around anymore either, so Thulcandra's Under a Frozen Sun is a worthy successor.




I decided to add another Chthonic album to my collection too. It's a face melter. I can definitely see why people said the band toned down their sound on the latest upon giving Seediq Bale my first listen through. Even though it still has the recognizable Chthonic sound, there's an upped sense of aggressiveness and drive Takasago Army seems to lack. In other words, it's primarily black metal, something the latest only has in minimal doses. Mirror of Retribution clearly bridges the gap between the two stylistically.

That's it, guys. Hopefully I get a chance to review one of them before I head to Europe.
The Metal Advisor

Throwing Together a Playlist...

Hey metalheads,

I'm currently in the process of throwing together a playlist to jam to as I head back to school for another loooong year. I figure I'll be blogging quite a bit more once I'm at school, so expect the pace to pick up. Unfortunately, preparation has taken up a good portion of my time, so I haven't gotten to blog as much as I would have liked to lately. However, you should expect to see stuff on the playlist that I've discovered this summer, bands like Carpathian Forest, Kvelertak, and the tried and true stuff I've always dabbled around with. Maybe I'll throw various electronic music and electropop into the pot as well... Who knows?

I'll post up the playlist with some commentary in the coming days. Actually, I hope I get a chance to sit down and give it a good "think" tomorrow. For now, I'll toss random songs your way and you can jam out to them.

Carpathian Forest - "The Pale Mist Hovers Toward the Nightly Shores"

Agalloch - "Falling Snow"
(probably the band's most well known song)

Iron Maiden - "Deja Vu"
(Gotta get some Maiden in here)

Communic - "My Bleeding Victim"

Snakebyte - "She's a Witch"

Vader -"Come and See My Sacrifice"
(Track from the upcoming album. Album art looks old school, but very Nazi inspired. Odd because the band isn't Nazi in any way [that I know of].)

That ought to do it.

-TMA