Funeral Rain Press Corps

Genre: Crust Punk, D-Beat
Label: Southern Lord 

Ah, d-beat. You and I haven’t been the best of friends for the past little while, have we? I’ve neglected you quite a bit in favor of more… mainstream tastes and for that, I am sorry. To make it up to you, I have spent the last two days straight listening to Swedish d-beat mavens, Wolfbrigade and their latest offering to the crusty genre, Damned.

Since I wasn’t a huge fan or Prey To The World, I wasn’t expecting too much from Damned. And to be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to think about this album at first. I mean, it’s super aggressive and has a true, grimy crust punk feel to it from beginning to end, but  it’s fairly simplistic instrumentally (no real surprise there, but I meant “more than usual”) and the vocalist’s style of “let’s see how long I can strain my voice like this” vocals get irritating pretty quick.

There are a few classic d-beat riffs going on in Damned (the latter half of the album especially) and as stripped down as some of the songs can get, it doesn’t really detract from the dark mood that Wolfbrigade has set up. Another check in the Pro box would be the drumming. While it’s not particularly mind-blowing, it is inventive. If I could just isolate the drum track and listen to it as is, I probably would every once in a while. Lots of fun to be had in Damned if you’re a fan of manic drumming in a gloomier setting. I know that I mentioned earlier that the vocals got on my nerves. Yes, they did… but they aren’t really all that bad. Sure, I’m concerned that the vocalist isn’t going to be able to speak for a week after replicating them live, but he seems to be cool with it so who am I to judge, really?

The major flaw of this album is it’s inability to stick with me after I turn off my player. I listened to Damned for TWO DAYS STRAIGHT and I couldn’t recite a single lyric or hum a single melody as of right now. All that kept happening was I would hum something off of Death Songs (When Tigers Fight)… I’m not sure if that a dis to Wolfbrigade (Sorry!) or a testament to how awesome When Tigers Fight are (still sorry WB).

Overall: From what I can remember at any given time about this album, it’s definitely a solid effort and something that should belong in any d-beat enthusiast’s collection. But I probably won’t be returning to Damned for a while. I’ll just go ahead and say that part of that is because of the repeated listens. Seriously though, don’t let my whining keep you from checking this album out.

7/10

-  Typhon

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Genre: Gothic, Symphonic Metal
Label: Humid Records

It’s been a while since a musician shoved a link in my mailbox and asked me to review their work. Seriously, when I first started reviewing metal six or so years ago, that was all I ever had in my inbox! Unsigned bands trying to get me to review their material. Nowadays, I have to go around begging bands for that! I’m not sure what changed here. Either people caught on that General Blaspheme and I have no fucking clue what we’re doing here or… something far less logical. Either way, why am I complaining? (Thanks Joan!)

Trocaria plays a blend of gothic, doom-ish and digital-symphonic metal that comes off sounding half vampire love rock, half Draconian (minus the constant female vocalage). The “symphonic” bits sound like slightly better renditions of Castlevainia level themes. It was fun firing up the ol’ NES and playing Dracula’s Curse with The Dark Nears blaring in the background.

8-Bit references aside, Trocaria put up a fierce first offering with The Dark Nears. Everything here (aside from the much too electronic sounding drum machine) is on par with signed bands five or six years their senior. Vocalist Jon S.’s growls are a bit on the Muppet-ish side of things for the most part, but occasionally he slips into a scream that makes you forget that he kinda sounds like a cookie munching toe sock. The rest of the band consists of guitarist, bassist, keyboardist and programmer Joan Palmer. Truth be told, the best thing about this album are the interesting hooks she comes up with. Listen three minutes into the track entitled Suicide, and you’ll hear the bests riffing on the album. It’s damn good and really catchy as a cold.

Unfortunately, her bass work could be fantastic but I’d never know since I can’t really make it out. To be fair, my speakers are starting to take a shit so it could be my computers fault and not hers. Still on the unfortunate side, there’s very little song variation and the variations that are there are so subtle that they will more than likely go unnoticed.

Overall: While The Dark Nears isn’t a particularly great album, it’s still something I’d strongly recommend that you look up for a listen. There’s a lot of heart here and the musician’s bare their souls through every note and that alone is worth a tiny bit of your time. Also, there is A LOT of potential here that you should get on there ground floor for.

7/10

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Genre: Heavy Metal
Label: Napalm Records 

Ugh. Here we go again. Another band that’s hyped up based solely on the fact that they’re fronted by a woman. It doesn’t matter if she’s awesome or if she’s terrible, if she’s ugly or hot. I don’t care. Can’t we just talk about the band in general? Could the promo guy at Napalm Records just of said they this band is a badass heavy metal outfit from California and then build into the fact that the vocalist’s name is Jill and that she’s got magnificent metal pipes? Look at that! I got the point across that she’s a she and she can bust out the metal scream without making it sound like I’m trying to turn your world upside down!

But yeah, all of that aside, what we have here is Huntress and their first full length release, Spell Eater. As stated before, this bunch plays heavy metal. It may not be the old school’s definition, but it’s still pretty damned metal in old school spirit! Think of a slightly slower version of 3 Inches Of Blood with more self-restraint and  more vocal variation.

Let’s talk about those heavy metal guitars first. The solo that bust out of nowhere in Sleep And Death was pretty much all you need to hear to figure out what lead guitarist Blake Meahl’s style is all about: playfulness, unpredictability and madness! Manic riffs and out-there solos set aside, guitarist Ian Alden enforces the Metal Is Law mentality fostered by Huntress with his brand of rhythmic ruckus.

Drummer Carl Wierzbicky (who some of you may remember and worship from his work with DarkBlack) kicks out the most purely heavy metal performance of the group. Mid-paced beats and moderately used rolls and the like allow the drums to remain prominent without overpowering the other performances, which I’m sure Carl could of done. The other in the duo of well known contributors  is bassist Eric Harris (formally of Skeletonwitch). Eric’s role in this album is understated. He has shown in the past that he’s got the balls to play bass loud and proud, but he’s kinda forced to the back of the class, as the bassist generally is. But it’s not generally this tragic since this album could of used a little more depth and Eric’s talents could of helped out with that.

What this album really lacks though, is catchiness. Sure the band is good overall, but there’s nothing much here to keep you invested until the very end. I never once found myself singing one of these tunes while I was cooking, in the shower or even just after I finished listening to the album and am walking to the fridge for whatever reason. It’s not a deal breaker by any means, but I probably won’t be jonesing to listen to Spell Eater anytime soon.

Overall: Spell Eater is nowhere near as amazing as all of the hype would have you believe, but Huntress really aren’t anything you should pass up if you have the chance to do otherwise. Yes, there’s a female vocalist. Yes, she delivers the goods pretty fucking well (the rumors are true, she sounds amazing) and looks good while doing it. Other than that though, this album is worth a listen but will probably be rejected based on all of the hype or not given a second chance just to be sure. I suggest you give it a shot.

7/10

Huntress Official
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Huntress On Facebook

Genre: Thrash, Punk, Blackened Thrash

Label: Relapse Records

Yes! I’ve been waiting for three years to get my hands on some new Toxic Holocaust material! Conjure And Command couldn’t of come at a better time too. It seems that every act in Portland, Oregon (NOTE: Toxic Holocaust originated in Florida, hence the, “in Portland” and not, “from Portland”) and their cousins are releasing material about the same time. And so far, it’s all unbelievably awesome! Let’s cross our fingers and and see where Mr. Grind & Co. are taking us this time around…

Joel Grind ditched being a solo thrash master before recording Toxic Holocaust’s successful 2008 album, An Overdose Of Death. Continuing to find strength in numbers, Toxic Holocaust is once again a trio of semi-blackened thrash and punk driven madness! Bassist Philthy Gnaast plays his fours stringer like anyone else who feels under-appreciated: loud and aggressive so that somebody will hear you and go, “Dude, you fucking kick ass!” Well, Phil… Dude, you fucking kick ass! (Appreciation!) Meanwhile, drummer Nikki Rage trots and bangs his way through Conjure And Command at a pace that’s more befitting someone who’s more accustomed to playing sludgecore… oh wait. He’s in Kingdom Of Sorrow? Now I get it. Personally, I think he sounds much better in Kingdom Of Sorrow. In Toxic Holocaust, he just kinda lags behind and drags the whole album down a bit.

Joel’s voice has gone through a bit of a change since the last album. His blackened rasp has been scaled back for some songs to the point of almost being a traditional thrash/punk shout… sort of. But what can be said for sure, would have to be Joel’s continuation of cranking out some insane thrash riffs that you may or may not of heard before. Some of them sound like inverted or rearranged versions of Witchmaster and Artillery songs. Either way, they’re original enough for me to bang my fucking skull to!

And maybe it’s because of that, Conjure And Command has a sense of redundancy that one doesn’t exactly want in there new release from a fresh thrash act. But then again, maybe that’s just me…

Overall: Conjure And Command is probably Toxic Holocaust’s weakest album to date… and it’s still worthy of your time. If you’re a fan of Toxic Holocaust, then you’ll undoubtibly dig this one. If not, start off with Evil Never Dies and listen chronologically until you get to this one.

7/10

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Genre: Brutal Death Metal

Label: Comatose Music

Whenever my dreary, miser-ish visages manages to contort into a painful looking smile, there are two possible reasons as to why:

1) I just saw a mop-headed skater biff it to the point of serious injury, or

2) A band like Disfigured shows me there are death metal groups out there that know that brutality isn’t just a fucking gimmick.

San Marcos, Texas natives, Disfigured are exactly what you think of when you catch yourself wondering what a band would sound like if they didn’t have to sacrifice ANYTHING in their art to please their label’s own agenda (probably one of the reasons why Comatose Music is so fucking killer). Everything is turned way down low, frantic as shit and as gritty as it all should be.

I wanted to use the tag “technical” in the heading, but all that really stood out or came close in that realm was the bass. I’m not saying that the guitarist and the drummer aren’t any good at all. I’m just giving the bassist a big ol’ thumbs up in the “Fucking-A, you kill!” department. It definitely helps that the mixing is top notch, so I can hear every note on every instrument, every time I play Amputated Gorewhore.

In the song Cunt Force Trauma, the vocalist deviates from his borderline annoying, stabbed-in-the-throat gurgle burps for a couple seconds and does this immensely annoying, gargling-with-semen scream. I really don’t understand the need for this particular type of vocal. Who’s demanding that they want their death/grind bands to sound like they find out that they’re bone-chillingly afraid of their own microphone while simultaneously trying to down a two liter of Shasta?

Also, Disfigured tended to overuse or go into that cliche territory with the samples from horror flicks or diarrhea sound clips. Even though we all love that scene in Dumb And Dumber where Harry shits his brains out… ok, I’ll let that one pass. With that being said, the track Drowning In Feces is a must listen. If you hear it and don’t dig it, then this album isn’t for you. Also, if you don’t dig it, I don’t think I want to know you!

Overall: Yes, Disfigured doesn’t abuse the “brutal” tag at all, but they do still manage to stumble upon the pitfalls that 90% of all bands in this sub-genre plummet into. In short; if you want a brutal album that fucking means it, check out Amputated Gorewhore.

7/10

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