Funeral Rain Press Corps

Genre: Black Metal 
Label: Shaytan Productions

Look out Darkestrah, here’s another band that plays authentic middle eastern inspired black metal! And from the sounds of things… they’ve got your number! (If I ever would of finished my Top 50 Favorite Albums Of All Time list, you would of found out that Darkestrah’s The Great Silk Road is my favorite metal album of all time… but I’m lazy.)

And oh boy, do those middle eastern influences really stand out front and center! I mean, we all know that black metal kicks ass, right? Well, imagine letting some of the most deranged and, let’s face it, fascinating history dictate were and how the music itself grows and changes… pretty exciting, am I right?

The guitars are a joyous mix of typical black metal shred and progressive riffing. They mix quite well with the perfectly rendered bass (both played by Mephisto) that bangs and booms with all the might and majesty of Anu and Enlil! But then we come to the keys (oriental keys, that is)… wow. You know how sometimes you’re listening to a black metal album and you think, “Man, this is missing something.”? I swear to Marduk that these keys are it! The haunting edge they add to every song is nothing short of GENIUS! Thanks Ostron!

And how can I forget the drums? Naw, I couldn’t even if I tried! Skinsman Darius plays his way through the whole of Estorat Taghoot, mixing in your standard blackened aggression with (again) progressive beats. Last but not least, we come to the vocals. Imagine the best black metal vocals you’ve ever heard from any band. Who comes to mind? Belphagor? Immortal? Dark Throne? Yeah, add this guy. They’re perfect. That’s all I can say. (Except this: Mardus isn’t even officially in the band! Why the fuck not?!? …but to be fair, I haven’t heard the new guy’s vocals yet.)

You probably think that I’m just ejaculating all over this album for shit and giggles. But I swear to you on the highest and lowest of authorities that this album is a gift for one, the other or possibly both of those authorities…

Overall: Yeah, those are some big statements for me to make, but what choice do I have? This album is easily one of, if not the best album I’ve ever heard!

10/10

Al-Namrood On MySpace 

Genre: Black Metal
Label: Nekrogoat Heresy Productions

2010 saw the release of Prayer of the Dying’s newest fist to the face of the world. Entitled In Silence and Grief We Decay, the album sees Prayer growing in their signature sound, showing Martin’s greater assuredness to his own abilities.

The biggest showing of growth, to me, is the vocals as well as the general arrangements of the songs. Martin’s voice is much stronger on this CD, with a greater range of tonality and emotiveness. The riffs are coming together a little more fluidly as well, making the disc seem less like a patchwork riff collection and more of a planned out album.

If you’ve heard Prayer of the Dying before, and liked it, definitely check out In Silence and Grief We Decay. It’s more of what’s great for the band. If you’ve never heard them, this is a perfect place for you to begin your journey into Martin Ciappara’s vision of black metal.

8 out of 10.

Prayer of the Dying on Facebook.

General Blaspheme’s new video channel gets it’s name proper: Hey Metalhead!
The first episode plays below:

Genre: Hard Rock
Label: Stomp Records

Byron Stroud, best known for his work in Strapping Young Lad and Fear Factory, started this band from the reunion of Caustic Thought, and brought Burton C. Bell in when the original singer decided not to take part. So what ended up happening is a strange little bastard child was created with City of Fire – its a beast with a very diverse set of teeth.
Opening with the particularly catchy/nut punching “Carve Your Name”, a mood is definitely set for the album, and it’s obvious it’s not a cheery one. The music seems to be taking cues from death metal, with maybe a bit of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest influence (a nod to trad metal song structure/tone) or even Canadian hard rock from the 90′s (hm… strange that…).
There’s even some touches of Type O here.
Overall, there’s tons of stuff going on with various tempos, moods – usually angry or melancholic moods – and textures in the general sound of the album. A great thing about this is it’s catchiness. It wouldn’t surprise me if you checked it out and was singing choruses the next day.
At first listen, however, I hated this. I even wrote a different review that ripped this album all new sets of assholes. Then I listened to it again, and realized it’s pretty damn good. And that I shouldn’t listen to review material when I’m in a bad mood.
Favorite tracks: “Carve Your Name” and “Rising”. The latter s a great hard rock tune while the former is an angry metal song that will definitely get stuck in your head.
7 out of 10.

City of Fire on Facebook.

Genre: Blackened Death Metal

Label: Vendlus Records

Arkhum is a band from Eugene, Oregon (yes, the one mentioned in that Sublime song… do you have any idea how many times I’ve been asked by out of staters about that shit?) that has been gaining notoriety at the same rate your mom’s throat gains scar tissue thanks to their chaotic live shows and ability to fervently release demo after demo after live video after single after EP after demo, etc… in five years!

I can say this with 100% certainty: the vocals WILL divide. They do this thing were they trick you into thinking that they’re decent brutal death metal growls, but as soon as you get comfortable they sink into what I’ve always hypothesized would happen if you gargled with raw sewage.

The guitars on the other hand are a mind blowing balancing act of Gigan-ish wankery, just right Wolves In The Throne Room inspired riffs and brain melting solos! Though, after a few tracks, it all does start to get a little old (it took me about five tracks before I wanted to listen to something else the first time through). The only thing that I can say is flawless is album closer Expendable Biomass. Take everything I complained about thus far and rotate it one hundred and eighty degrees! It’s five minutes and thirty three seconds of “YES! BANG YOUR FUCKING SKULL UNTIL SOME OF THAT SWEET GRAY SOUP OOZES OUT!”

On top of that, there is one other thing that nobody can object to and that’s the lyrics (look ‘em up because there is no fucking way you”l be able to understand them if you just jump right in). When you’re songs are about mechanical microorganisms, R’lyeh, or if you even mention the Ptolemaic System in passing, my inner sci-fi/sci-non-fi geek goes berserk! Arkhum has made a fan, right here.

Overall: Anno Universum may not be for everybody. Hell, it almost wasn’t ever for me! But, if you give it a chance and do in fact find something here that gets your blood flowing, it’s a satisfying ride through some cosmic what the fuck.

7/10

Arkhum On ReverbNation

Arkhum On Facebook