Funeral Rain Press Corps

Genre: Atmospheric, Black Metal, Rock, Pop
Label: Eisenwald

This is going to sound horrible right off the bat but please, just give it a few seconds to sink in; What if someone took the might and savagery out of Thrall, replaced it with something resembling a metallic version of Coldplay and managed to keep the wicked black metal edge to most of it? If any of you are left after that (including you, Tim), the answer is easily one of the most unique musical experiences I’ve had since starting the reviewing game all of those years ago!

There is a metric TON of genre melding going on within these six tracks. Everything from relatively simple, yet catchy hard rock riffs to clean vocals and synthy pop keys to banshee wailing and back again can be heard in right here in this EP. It might be a tad overwhelming or just considered aimless to some folks, but I found it to be morbidly captivating. I kept finding myself thinking the same thing over and over again, “This shouldn’t be.” Meaning, these musical elements should never of been mixed! Germ’s sole member… (get ready for it) Germ, is toying with the very essence of what makes popular music popular and metal music that which must live underground! He’s taking those irrefutable elements and making them his own personal soundboard, not to mention, taking a gigantic risk with the possibility of alienating his audiences… and I absolutely LOVE that.

If there was one thing that I had to gripe about, it’s the oldie but goodie “length” complaint. This EP was too damned short! How dare you tease me with such a brilliant yet stingy offering! Damn you Germ!

Overall: Taking a risk on Loss is nowhere near the risk that was taken to bring it to you! Loss is a one of a kind outing that will leave you wondering what the future holds for Germ, metal and music as a whole.

9.5/10

Germ On Facebookable
Germ On Soundcloud 

-  Typhon

Genre: Progressive Metal
Label: CynNormal Lab Recordings

If the guys from Cynic and Gigan took a truckload of Ritalin before hitting the recording studio, I believe that the end result would sounds something like Abnormal Thought Patterns’s debut EP.

Since I brought it up, I think that if you were able to transmute Abnormal Thought Patterns music into pill from, you’d be left with a highly addictive psychotropic narcotic. Eases the pain by passing through the aural barrier and into the blood and brain barriers. Effective for clearing up a shitty day at work or whatever else is ailing you. Unfortunately, you can’t just stop listening to it. You’ll have to finish the seven track dose or else you’ll go through horribly horrible withdrawals! So do yourself a favor and listen to the whole damned EP and pass over the pain.

Getting back on track, Abnormal Thought Patterns is technical. The two aforementioned bands are decent comparisons in terms of overall sound. But ATP does it all with a certain panache. Primarily the kind were you decide to be an instrumental four piece technical/progressive metal outfit. (Where’s the marketability?  <— F!O!A!D!) Luckily for us, these guys know what they’re doing and who their audience is and they show it by playing with a gusto reserved for hardcore veterans of the genre with finger breaking tech riffs and hyper hammering drumwork exploding out of every track! Even the bass gets it’s fair shot at glory! That just doesn’t happen enough nowadays, am I right?

Unlike other EPs where I always end up bitching about how I was teased with only a little bit of what is to come in the future, Abnormal Thought Patterns went ahead and made sure that you not only got a pretty damned good taste of what these guys are all about, but also that you wouldn’t be teased at all. Sure the EP runs around twenty minutes or so, but there’s enough meat on the bones to slate your progressive hunger.

As for the Cons tally, we have an oldie but a validie: the EP tends to get a little on the repetitive side. The end of each track (minus the bass solo track, Ulnar Nerve Damage which is amazingly good!) sounds enough like the beginning of each track to trigger deja vu. But when they’re playing mind melting progressive riffs throughout, is a little repetition gonna kill ya? …didn’t think so.

Overall: Abnormal Thought Patterns debut EP is a mircoburst of progressive genius! I don’t normally use the word “fun” in my reviews, but it’s hard to deny that there is a whole lot of fun to be had in this offering. And even though it’s a relatively short outing, there is more than enough evidence on these seven tracks to let you know what the inevitable album will be like. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if Scott Mosher had a hand in this somewhere…

9.5/10

Abnormal Thought Patterns On Facebook

Genre: Dark Ambient 
Label: Malignant Records/Black Plagve

Geez. It’s been about six months since I’ve gotten my hands on some dark ambient goodness. I mean, I don’t have a shortage of this stuff (thanks to Jason Mantis), but it’s always nice to have more. Or maybe I’m just greedy, I don’t know…

Anyhow, today I get to sink my teeth into Black Plagve’s (a division of Malignant Records) most demented and psyche scorching bastard sons: Hypsiphrone. And guess what? Like just about everything else have I received from Black Plavge’ s mothership, I LOVE this album.

Unfortunately, I can’t really compare And The Void Shall Pierce Their Eyes to any of the other brilliant dark ambient releases I have received. (Being unique is definitely something to get excited over, but it can be a bitch to describe in this medium/genre.) The closest anything that I can even begin to describe what this album puts you through would have to be Stalaggh. Now, in the past, that would be an insult coming from me. But the years have been good to me so now I can appreciate the intricate goings on in such albums/bands. But yes, Stalaggh. The comparison is probably more true than even I think: a dense, oppressive gloom fills the room you’re in with dread, regardless of where you are (seriously, go to your happy place and listen to this album. By the time it’s over, you’ll need a new happy place). Screaming and crying mental patients (and throughout the track entitled Resurgence Of Mors Sexualis, it seems like you can hear the staff too) can be heard running through the halls of this absolutely malevolent (and fictitious) place of healing.

But that’s where all of those comparisons ends. The technique is completely different with Hypsiphrone’s brand of slow mental torture. It all feels genuine and it’s all from an honest place. It’s not just slapped on a platter and presented as something “shocking” or purposely “sick”.  Every track is water marked with blood, sweat and tears and that my friends is refreshing.

The only thing I can manage to critique would be the overall length of this album. I wish it was only a few minutes shorter since I always seem to burn out in the last bit of the closing track. Over than that though, if you’re a fan of this kind of thing, I can’t seem to recommend this album and label enough.

Overall: Yet another solid dark ambient release has found a happy home on my shelf and in my computer. But be forewarned;  And The Void Shall Pierce Their Eyes is not for everyone. Unless you get some kind of kinky satisfaction from having your wits tested and your psyche kicked repeatedly by a raving lunatic, then maybe, only maybe you’ll do ok against an album of this magnitude.

9.5/10

Hypsiphrone On Facebook

Genre: Black Metal
Label: Moribund Records

It kind of sucks that I gave a 10/10 to Away From The Haunts Of Man. I mean, I don’t regret it on a journalistic level. Just a personal level since there is no way in Hell that Thrall is going to be able to top themselves. It doesn’t matter fucking awesome Vermin To The Earth is, I don’t see it being better than their 2010 release.

…and this is the part where you expect me to say something like, “Welp, looks like I was wrong derpa-derp!” Well, this time I was serious. Vermin To The Earth remains in the shadow of it’s older brother Away From The Haunts Of Man.

…ha! But only by ::holds fingers incredibly close together without them touching:: thiiiiiiiiis much! Thrall’s 2011 outing is surprisingly phenomenal! I say surprisingly since I honestly thought that, like most fresh acts nowadays, Thrall was going to fizzle out immediately. I’ve said it once before and I’m sure I’ll say it a bunch more, I love it when I’m wrong!

Thrall comes at ya with an all out doom en-”crusted”, black metal barrage! Keeping the patent fresh on their exclusive brand of whip smart riffing, songs like Disease’s Maiming Carcass and Plague Of Man are filled to the brim with “Whoa! Lemme hear that one again!” moments. Vocally, Thrall is where they were last year, so there’s no need to repeat how awesome these vocals are… d’oh! Lyrically, what do you expect? Evil shit about how awful humanity is and the like? Yeah, it’s all here and it’s all put in a way that makes me hate myself…

The only thing I’m going to waste your time with here would be the awkward pacing and jerky tempo changes. I mean, these are those “Look what I can do!” nerd-tech, mathcore tempo switches or anything. In face, I can’t even tell if they were done on purpose or not. What I do know is that they break the fluidity that I enjoy in my metal. I frown at this.

Overall: Other than the oddly placed tempo changes that break the flow, Vermin To The Earth knocks it out of the park once again. I told you in my last review to keep your eye on these guys. (F.Y.I. – I also love it when I’m right.)

9.5/10

Thrall Official 
Thrall On Facebook 

Genre: Thrash

Label: Heavy Artillery Records

It’s always fun to hear about a band that you picked up a demo from at one of their shows has been signed to one of your favorite labels. Even better is when they finally release that much anticipated debut EP. Better still? When their nine track full length album finally hits your ears! Best of fucking all?!  It ends up being the best goddamn thrash album you’ve heard all year!

If the album cover doesn’t give it away, Excruciator play on the darker side of thrash. (Less Tankard more Kreator, you know?) The kind of thrash that can boarder on death metal if one is only kind of listening to it in the background. So it’s no real surprise that Devouring is as fucking fast and fucking vicious as you would expect an album called Devouring by a band named Excruciator to be! Also note that eight of these nine tracks are original songs, the one exception being the immortal Nuclear Exmortus.

Lyrically, Devouring is exactly what we’ve come to expect from Excruciator: Booze, violence, war, glory holes, cheese graters and catheters! Instrumentally, Excruciator  plays tighter and more focus than ever before here. Every solo sounds like it wasn’t a first take “fuck it”. The vocals sound better than previous efforts as well. I mean, I dug the vocals in past releases too. It’s just that here, they sound like true, menacing thrash vocals!

Disciples Of Menace is easily the best new song on the album. It’s got everything! Rage filled lyrics, hot handed thrash riffs, classic drum beats and a wildly driving bass line! Not since the first time I heard Peace Sells have bass chops like that been stuck in my noggin.

And what’s this? Devouring closes with a cover of Onslaught’s Metal Forces?!?!? …no? Oh poo. Nice tease dickholes!

…still and awesome song though.

Overall: Devouring is a 100% thrash attack!!! And you know that Excruciator is only going to get better from here.

9.5/10

Excruciator On ReverbNation

Excruciator On Facebook