Füneral Rain Press Cörps

Genre: Power Metal
Label: Independent

Few things put a wider smile on my face than receiving a package in the mail that contains pure, unadulterated power metal! I guess that the guys in Dawn Of Valor knew that I was feeling a little down a few days ago since they sent me an EP containing three solid track of just that! And guess what? I’m all fucking smiles once again!

I dug Dawn Of Valor’s self titled 2010 demo enough to give it an 8/10 rating. Upon listening to it again after listening to Immortal Flame, I’ve noticed that all of the improvement that the band made where due in part to a line-up change. Now, this is kind of shocking to me since I’m a guy who doesn’t like changes being applied to things I enjoy (which is one of the reasons why it took me so long to watch David Tennant’s run on Doctor Who after Christopher Eccleston was the lead. I’m so glad I did though! Same with Matt Smith… this tangent went on longer than it should of…).

When I heard that they switched out vocalists, I was more than bummed since I really liked Sean Iredale’s vocal style… but that lasted all of two seconds after Jaden Adair kicked in with some pretty badass power vocals! Similar cheers can be made for Joe Waller’s frantic drumming and Andrew Johnson’s axemanship. And after all was said and done, I consider the roster update a resounding success!

I don”t normally single out songs and praise/bitch about them in my reviews (I’ve been told that I should do it more often), but Immortal Flame makes it hard not to with Valkyrie Sky. This track is pure power metal perfection! Heavy, melodic, mid-tempo to start and then cuts loose into a bitchin’ solo that, if you’re not ready for it could send you straight to Valhalla! Also, this genre is riddled with shitty lyricism, so mad props to John Leibel for stitching this masterpiece together.

Oh, and the icing on this already scrumptiously fattening cake of powah? The closing track, There Can Be Only One is about… shit, do I really have to tell you? …although, maybe I should since that series is plagued with towering mountains of bullshit that might throw some people off. The song based on the first Highlander flick and it does this particular sacred cow more justice than ANY of the sequels!

Gripe Time (Don’t worry, the list is short.): Ugh! Again with precious time being eaten up by a spoken word intro track! PEEVE! And as much as I enjoy the new stylistic changes to the guitar scheme, I’m a little off put by the solo in Lutetium. It comes off sloppy and maybe a little forced.

Overall: Other than those little ol’ complaints, I can say with my head held high that this EP fucking owns! Here’s to this Immortal Flame burning forever! Cheers!

9/10

Dawn Of Valor Official 
Dawn Of Valor  On Facebook

Abyss Records is pleased to announce the recent signing of Sweden’s Carnivore. Plans are in place for the label to re-release a limited edition version of the band’s EP Faces of Death in early 2012. Carnivore is set to enter the studio in December of this year to record their full-length debut, which will be out sometime next year. Faces of Death is currently streaming on the band’s SoundCloud page.

Carnivore Live Dates:

1/5 – Slaughterhouse – Växjö, Sweden
3/31 – Garf – Växjö, Sweden
TBA – Tilbakakaka Festival
TBA – Säljeryd Festival
5/19 – 5/20 Westbay Heaven n Hell Festival

Bio:

Carnivore was formed in 2010 when a former project of three of the members, called Beyond Hell, underwent major line-up changes and decided to make a new start. The band played several local shows during 2010 and in 2011 they recorded a three-song EP called Faces of Death. Faces of Death was released on June 1st, and sold out in 2 hours.
Carnivore‘s musical style is based on old school elements with a modern and progressive touch, as well as an philosophical and occult lyrical element.

Daniel Ocic Sundberg – Vocals
Tobias Pettersson – Guitar
Jonas Davidsson – Guitar
Cedrik Petersson – Bass
Marcus Nieminen – Drums

Genre: Stoner Metal
Label: Independent

I’d just like to start of this review by saying that a lesser band would of wrote me off as a hack or complete ballbag for labeling them as “Brutal Queercore” while questioning what the band’s moniker, “Pinkzilla” meant. (Thanks for the second chance guys!) After blowing my mind with their 2010 demo, Pinkzilla has set the bar pretty fucking high for themselves. Can this big gay lizard make the leap? Let’s read on…

It should be noted that only three of these songs are made up of new material. The other three are re-recordings… holy shit! They’re good ones too!

All the old influences are present in this debut, self-titled album: Black Sabbath, Orange Goblin, Blue Cheer (the colors man! THE COLORS!!!) and the like. So basically, you’ve got yourself a smorgasbord of slammin’ stonery-sludge metal! Vocalist/Guitarist Skyler Wells does an outstanding job at the front of the line, barking out chemically induced insanity with the efficiency of a cattle auctioneer while slinging some pretty wicked riffs ad nauseum! The same can be said about Nate Overholser’s bass work. There is just enough funk in between these slammin’ lines for all of his material to be deemed, “Stonerific” (according to my fiance). And then we come to the drums… yes. Simply, yes. I swear, every time I listen to this album, my heart finds a way to match the beat to each song!

Gah! Gastronaut is the worst song ever! C’mon guys! You’re seriously gonna put a song about the tastiest stoner snacks in the whole of existence at the end of your album that you practically dare people to puff, puff, pass to!? FUCK YOU PINKZILLA!!! This costs you half a point!

(…I have no food in my house at the moment)

Overall: An improvement in every conceivable way! Pinkzilla is easily one of the best unsigned acts that I’ve heard all year and I’m sure you’ll agree once you pick up this album!

9.5/10

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Genre: Progressive Black Metal
Label: Southern Lord

Pushing black metal into further left field regions, while keeping it firmly rooted in it’s origins can’t be an easy feat. But Wolves in the Throne Room seem to do it just fine, perhaps even making it an easy feat after three albums and two demos before Celestial Lineage.
Musically, this album is beyond what many people would call black metal. WITTR are taking cues, it seems, from Isis (whose own Aaron Turner makes chanting appearances on “Subterranean Initiation” and “Permanent Changes in Consciousness”), Xasthur, Leviathan, and even touches of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Junius with some classic American rock leanings, as well as Darkthrone, Celtic Frost, Emperor, and even Dimmu Borgir at times.

The artwork for Celestial Lineage is amazing. Photographs, presumably taken near Calliope, depict a peaceful, beautiful rural setting, with Nathan and Aaron in the distance in a falling-down forest on the back cover. The sleeves for the records are equally photographed, featuring mountains, forest, and a deforested area as well. The vinyl itself for both records is some of the blackest I’ve ever seen, the sheen on it is magical, and at 180gm the platters have a good weight.
In all, it really meshes together, the physical beauty of the records and the auditory beauty that is on the records.

“Thuja Magus Imperium” is in many ways a classy black metal song. It starts off ambient-infused and has Jessika Kenney singing wonderful vocals, then Nathan takes over with his blackened lungs and riffs. A wonderful solo happens in it, which in the notes is called the “Black Acid Solo” (a perfect name for it), and it’s performed by Milky Burgess. The main riffs are reminiscent of slower Darkthrone, with a very haunting quality to it that brings Emperor’s Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk to mind.
“Permanent Changes in Consciousness” is very much an ambient track, with wind and meditative chanting being the main sounds. There is a wonderful underlayer of percussion and windchime-esque sounds. Lovely, but far too short for such a great ambient gem.
“Subterranean Initiation” starts off fast and hard, keeping the wind sounds but turning them into a gale rather than a breeze. If the more cinematic elements of modern Dimmu Borgir were performed by Celtic Frost, this song might result. Very strong riff structure that moves you along, rather than allowing you to come with it, is combined with beautiful keys. All of this gets stripped away for a short time, however, and we are left with only a bare guitar momentarily, and the song slows right down for about a minute, only to return to it’s Celtic Borgir beginnings. Faith Coloccia does additional chants on this song, with Timb Harris writing and performing the “uprooting string arrangements”.
“Rainbow Illness” is another instrumental, led primarily by keys and possible field recordings. Really good, but again, too short.
“Woodland Cathedral” seems to be the baby of Jessika Kenney, with her taking control of choral vocal performance, arrangement, lyrics, and organ. The woman is amazing, her voice strong and uplifting, while her organ work really brings you down to earth. This is almost in no way a black metal song, other than the undertones of guitar, bass, and drums, which slowly come closer to the fore, which makes it even more of a black metal song, to me. This song really reminds me of parts of the Treasure album by Cocteau Twins.
“Astral Blood” starts off as a total second wave black metal song, with riffing and drumming sounding like a drier Darkthrone, until the keys kick in at least. Then it becomes all Wolves in the Throne Room. Thick vintage tone comes from their amps, and analog synths bubble up; no longer is this dry. Wet with emotion, “Astral Blood” may well be my favorite song on the album. I love the harp/wind section by Zeynep Okyu Yilmaz at the 4ish-minute mark. It’s just so moving, it’s hard to concentrate on anything else. Honestly, this whole song is like that. It definitely pulls at the heartstrings.
“Prayer of Transformation” picks up on the ending of “Astral Blood”, then morphs into it’s own lumbering beast. The entire song moves at a slow pace, bringing a doomy flavor to the occult lyrics. The synths are just brilliant, and what I think is more field recordings make quiet undercurrents throughout. There is nothing extreme about this song, except Nathan’s vocals, but the whole is extremely moving. I could sleep to this, and perhaps have the most pleasant dreams of bringing the dead back to golden life. The ending is great, with the keys and guitars coming up into a crescendo, then dropping off into ambiance for about a minute.

This is where, as the final record begins to click the fact that it is over, you turn off your record player, take off the record, put it back into its sleeve, and put the first one on the turntable again, and take the spiritual and emotional journey once, or even twice more. I could listen to this album, and only this album, for days. It is spellbinding and gorgeous. Beautiful. Perfect.
10 out of 10.

Wolves in the Throne Room on Facebook.

Genre: Thrash, Metalcore
Label: Elephantine Records 

I’ve been waiting four years for this album to come my way! I reviewed 18 Wheels Of Justice’s Deceive Them All back in 2007 and have been drooling for their next album ever since (I think their superb cover of The Trooper helped grease those wheels). After several failed attempts to receive one through the mail, I opted for the MP3 format. And now, my four year wait is over! Here we go…

Immediately, Execution eclipses Deceive Them All in all conceivable arenas. The songwriting is sturdier. The fast riffing is even faster. The thrash is fucking thrashier! I can’t really add much to this review on a musical analysis level. If you heard their last album, just take everything that might of been a little loose and tighten it up until you’re afraid it’s gonna snap, then add a fresh coat of paint and attach CO2 canisters to it and you’ve got this album in a nutshell.

Vocalist and new kid on board, Adam Sloan has a much wider range of vocal styles than Steve Justice. Adam has the hardcore shouting deal down alright and even throws out a shrill shriek every once in a while. But occasionally his growling tends to waver and wobble and it’s a bit distracting. Other than that, I can’t complain about his performance and I welcome and accept him into the family.

I should also mention that Deceive Them All was mostly metalcore in musical direction, regardless of what you might of heard elsewhere. Execution is Deceive Them All’s polar opposite in terms of ratio. This time it’s 25% metalcore and 75% thrash which will hopefully expose these guys to a wider audience of Thrasholes!

Overall: A thrashy overhaul and a new vocalist make Execution a clear improvement over their last album. And while I wouldn’t recommend this album to everyone I know, I’d still recommend it to a shit-ton of them!

8/10

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