Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Josh Sid Robinson, Fine Failure is six tracks of gritty, bloodthirsty malevolence that harbours a subtle but infectious melodic streak that flows and cleanses the senses. Right from the opening 54 second opener, We Know Who You Really Are, the clarity and immense power is clear to see. Gouging riffs, machine gun percussions and a blistering bass guitars collide and break ground for the following track Your Hate is Not Ours. The snarling and malignant vocals of Peter Cooney hit you square in the face, and you can literally feel ever spit and visceral tirade rain over you. The dirty, down-turned riffs of Conor Molloy and Jamie Coombs collapse to the floor and crawl over the angry bass lines of Rossa Molloy, generating a tsunami of raw power and intent.

Crash The Gates is a maelstrom of speed and disorder that’s relentless and unwavering. It pounds and punches without respite under the machine that is Lachlan Hill on drums. Lachlan’s angst follows right into the opening riffs of Memories Lost in a Wave, but oddly enough this track seems to bleed melody, and dare I use the word harmony, similar to what you hear in bands like In Flames, and others in that nordic melodic death mould.

Don't Go in the Water is the standout track for me, and one of the main reasons for this is Peter’s vocals. They are tested to the limit with those driving, high-end notes and their near-clean delivery, but the thing is, he fucking nails it! The title track Fine Failure brings the EP to a close and to be honest, it encompasses everything that was done right throughout this record. It's hardcore as hell, with just enough metallic polish to elevate it above the norm. LaVein have found their groove and have harnessed all the energy and discomfort that’s found in the hardcore scene and pebble dashed it with some penetrating metalcore nuances, giving them a bit of a USP that will see them get plenty of admirers in Ireland and further afield. A solid debut EP.

https://lavein.bandcamp.com/album/fine-failure

So, the big question is can Slung From A Tree carry that intensity and psychedelic grit into the studio? Well, the answer is fuck yeah! Seven tracks of crushing, down tempo fury comes rolling out of the speakers, with all the dirty distorted riffs and gravel torn screams that you'd normally find loitering around the Kasbah stage, in Dolans !

Blazed And Confused tears the album open with a hurtling hook that’s smothered in some filthy vocals, that scour and grate off those deep, molasses-drenched riffs and explosive drums. Even as the tempo changes, and heads into overdrive, there’s still that visceral stench of sweat, groove and rhythm to the track. That’s quickly followed by Astral Gold, which is swimming in a sea in 70’s swagger, with those spiraling lead solos sitting heavy above a wall of stoner savagery.

Low Frequency Disturbance does exactly what it says on the tin. Low-tuned to the depths of hell, the track crawls and drags itself through punishing riffs and bone breaking percussions. It’s grimy and fuzzy and absolutely slays when the tempo swings 360 degrees! Noise Pollution is chock full of reverb and trippy interludes, that get eaten up by more of those ferocious vocals and those meandering groove fueled guitars.

Dim Of Wit and Untitled roll together and bring the funk and the reggae to the table as it blends genres and styles and devours them in a sea of Irish potency. There’s even a Pearl Jam & Pink Floyd-tinged finale gracing the latter end of the tracks, which, to be fair shows that Slung From A Tree are far more than just spit and sawdust stoners.

The album closes with the title track for the album, Voyage Into Cosmos, and for me, they have kept the best for last. Right here is where Slung From A Tree kick off the shackles and just go for it, improvising and jamming the shit out of it. The music just takes you somewhere else, far from this cursed earth and deep into the cosmos. Spaced out on a trip like no other, the groove and the melody suspends you in nothingness for a time… that is until the speakers get a shot of adrenaline and the body comes hurtling back to earth in a cacophony of noise, sludge and fury. What a trip!

Slung From A Tree have been hovering around the live scene for a while now, making a name for themselves, and deservedly so. It was the ultimate acid test to try replicate that sound in the studio, but there was no reason to panic, the boys have nailed it.

Call Of The Mountain is in essence a concept album, tracing the journey from birth to death, a pilgrimage every one of us mere mortals must inevitably face at some stage, one of the only true dead certs in life. We may not share the bludgeoning hardship that our ancestors had to endure during their lifetime, but there are similarities, and Grey Stag’s Call Of The Mountain traces this through a barrage of pulverising riffs, gloomy bass lines and thundering drums.

The opening track Breith, is a gentle and innocent acoustic piece which harbours that celtic tone and cadence, which gives it an old and ancient feel to it. However, when These Seas Are Deep comes powering into view on its skeleton ship of timber and nails, the mood is darkened with doom laden riffs and harsh, gravelled screams. The pace changes to a gallop with alternating vocal styles sweeping across those chunky riffs and that underpinned bass guitar. A real stomper of a track.

Along this journey you find many varied styles deeply rooted in Grey Stag's sound, ranging from those raucous stoner and psychedelic grooves of the 70’s, through to the more melodic, yet gritty tirades that bands like Mastodon or Baroness have mastered but sadly now forgotten. Tracks like the pre-released Steadfast Leviathan and the relentless Killing Monsters, with its near hallucinogenic breakdown, really showcases both those examples. Fierce, furious and downright dirty.

Shifting moods and atmosphere, No Stranger To Pain brings an acoustic interlude to the album, a moment to reflect and recharge after the deluge of power and heft that the first few tracks brought with them. Soft, sombre and dripping in melancholia, each cord weeps and cuts deep with ever string plucked. It’s new territory for Grey Stag but a welcome one. The contrast between dark and light gives this album a lot more depth and weight.

The mid-tempo intensity of Sunder and This Mountain Moves reaffirm Grey Stag's ability to shapeshift through many different styles and structures. The melodic riffs bring flashes of old school rock to the forefront with bands like Thin Lizzy and early Iron Maiden seeping through the instruments.

Call Of The Mountain closes with its own death march, the acoustic and deeply sullen Bas. Forlorn lamentations haunt and cascade over the music before getting lost in the ether, and disappearing into nothingness, ending an album that sees Grey Stag take a giant leap in terms of song writing and delivery. Recorded, Mixed and Mastered by Aidan Cunningham, Call Of The Mountain is an outstanding piece of work, from start to finish. Grey Stag have truly dug their hooves in and have released a beast of an album.

Band Link:
https://greystag.bandcamp.com/

Inspired by the landscape and legends of the Scottish Highlands, James explores the darker side of Scotland’s ancient history and folklore on this record, and what he has delivered is a blistering array of black, thrash and death metal that is a joy for the ages. It’s ruthless and it’s merciless, but that’s the way it needs to be, so buckle up and take a nightmare stroll through the bleak Scottish wilderness with Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags

The Nuckelavee opens the album in a tirade of 80’s inspired riffs, tangled up in knots, smothered with savage shredding and pulverising drums. Showing claws as sharp as razor blades, the chorus hooks pierce the skin, unleashing a pain that is as melodic as it is intense. Gravel-choked vocals blister and spit out lyrics that plough through the melody, keeping the phrasing in near-tandem with the rhythm section, allowing space for those contorted lead solos to lay siege and almost race out of control with the sheer ferocity of the track. Never catching breath for a second, the melody and tempo takes on a black metal facade for the final two minutes of the track, leaving you in a twisted pile of body parts on the floor.

I, Deceiver holds within it, the magic and the mayhem of a filthy thrash onslaught combined with the speed and double bass battering of a black metal holocaust. So many influences race through my mind when listening to this track, ranging from bands like Amon Amarth to Mayhem. Its potency and compulsive tendencies make it one of my favourite tracks on the album. That’s followed by the brilliant title track, Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags, a passage of music that’s laced with early Amorphis and In Flames styled melodics that quickly transcend into some blood stirring folk influences that make you want to stand tall, chant aloud and take on the world single handedly!

Something I haven’t alluded to yet on this review is the brilliantly graphic and deeply profound lyrics that are littered throughout this album. Take for example a snapshot from the opening track, The Nuckelavee, “Carving a pestilent trail of the dead, Dripping with poison, a vision of dread, Rattling the heavens, let evil be known, Rising from abyssal waters below Beware the monster - Devil o’ the sea The Nuckelavee” - spine tingling stuff!

Speed, pandemonium and a sprinkling of some old school death metal disorder awaits you on Goat Vomit Nightmare. It’s a track that literally breathes fire and burns everything in its path. Even through those scorching solos and acoustic breakdowns, the power and the pageantry levitate at fever pitch, right down to the very last drumbeat. A little nod to the Slayer, Angel of Death intro scream adorns The Cursed Carrion Crown’s opening sequence, but that’s where the similarity ends as the music literally rips through black, speed and death metal arrangements with gusto.

The energy and intensity continues right through the remaining three tracks, The Hissing Marshes, Poison Womb, and the closing track, Mester Stoor Worm. From the rallying cries on Poison Wombs, with its Motorhead on steroids vibes, right through to ferociously violent Mester Stoor Worm, Hellripper encompasses everything within the extreme music spectrum, and deliver it with utter depravity and vehemence. All that’s left to say here is go grab a copy of Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags as soon as you can and succumb the legacy and the lore of these vast Scottish Highlands.

https://hellripper.bandcamp.com/album/warlocks-grim-withered-hags

Well, this is exactly what has happened with The Enigma Division, a band who hail from Dublin and who have a nucleus that consists of Conor McGouran on guitars/keyboards, Ronan Burns on bass and Ben Wanders on drums. However, in order for them to complete this musical voyage of discovery through the cosmos, they have brought in many guest musicians to add to the sheer drama and infinite atmosphere that their vision required. And just like one of nature’s great wonders, the aurora borealis, we end up with is a debut album that glows and metamorphosises into an array of shapes and colours, rebounding and resounding off invisible walls of textures and sounds.

1977 opens the album like a sci-fi film score, with a deluge of synths and sounds, creating tension, drama and the perfect prologue to the album. Crisp, clean tech-metal riffs shred and scour their way through to the next track, The Escapist. Prog inspired rhythm guitars fuse with Ben’s clean, soaring vocals and between them they lift the track into a futuristic space odyssey. Sweeping lead solos mimic the magic of Megadeth’s Rust In Peace meanderings, all very clean and concise, and bang on the money. An all too brief scowl still manages to add another layer to the track, along with more harmonies and a finale that really does make you stand up and take notice.

The technical ability and talent of every musician on show here is abundantly clear right from the outset. Even the 80’s inspired Afterglow conjures up images of Stranger Things, but with a finely weighted set of balls hanging freely from it! Some flamboyant, over the top guitar doodling really brings the 80’s to life here, even down to the chorus which screams bright colours and permed hair!

Tracks like The Age Of Discovery bring some brilliant technical passages and more vocal acrobatics to the table, with its ridiculously good fret work, along with those pulsating drum patterns. Even some off-kilter keyboards don’t look out of place here, such is the futuristic and near scientific approach to the song writing. Then you have a track like Kaleidoscope, one of my favourites on the album, which brings a Muse vibe with it, even down to the vocals that echo Matt Bellamy’s stylistic approach to phrasing and delivery, it’s absolutely fantastic.

With seven tracks already under its belt, The Enigma Division still has the vision and ability to somehow summon an epic, twenty minute expedition through the galaxies, with an array of innovative and toe-curling riffs. The teeth are shown here more than anywhere else on the album, with some truly gritty riffs, that effortlessly blend and spiral into a glorious Pink Floyd passage that even gets a sprinkling of some blues and jazz, and why do that; well, why not?! Like any good Hollywood Sci-fi movie that’s worth its salt, the track finishes in a cacophony of sound and suspense, carefully mastering that perfectly weighted balance between what could be classed as a soundtrack, and what is defined as modern and progressive rock and metal.

The Enigma Division have certainly pulled out all the stops in allowing the inspiration for this space odyssey come to fruition, without sacrificing on any of the drama and pageantry. Failure to execute this properly would have been a crying shame. Thankfully, the lads have done everything in their power to allow this album reach those stratospheric heights and maintain them right through to the very last note. A triumph!
Link: https://theenigmadivision.bandcamp.com/album/the-enigma-division

Well, it maybe a new year, and as a race we may well be caught up in a battle to save the earth from dying long before its time, but with the release of Raum Kingdoms latest album, a lot of the work may well be in vein. Monarch is soon to be unleashed and take my word for it, it’s an absolute beast of an album. The stars and the planets have aligned, and the sheer ferocity and magnitude of this album will cause the earth to rumble once more, summoning great earthquakes and tsunamis of sorrow and sludge. These six tracks see Raum Kingdom carry on from where they left off, but with a more diverse and multifaceted approach.

Red Admiral wastes no time in rising from the earth, crushing us with violent riffs along with the menacing vocals of Dave Lee, which immediately invoke an air of despair and angst. However, some clean spoken words and melody-soaked vocals lament and cry under an acoustic interlude, getting lost in the ether, before being drawn back down to the gutter with more demonic meanderings and some soul crushing riffs courtesy of Andrew Colohan. An opening track that conjures up all the venom and might of dark, dirty, sludge-heavy metal.

The haunting and hard-hitting Hairstreak is a track the epitomizes the diversity I mentioned earlier. Beginning with a piano soaked intro, it falls heavy with horror and menace under those eerie and atmospheric vocals, before becoming consumed by the more punishing riffs and Mark Gilchrist’s harrowing drum patterns. Swallowtail adorns us with more clean singing which brings another layer of melody and softness to the usually bleak and harsh environment that Raum Kingdom often imprison you in. It’s refreshing and a little unexpected to hear so much of it in one track, but it works, such is its chant like charm and delivery. But this ability to sing was always lying beneath the fog when you think back to the vocal acrobatics that haunted the opening track Summon, from Everything And nothing.

From Comma’s acoustic guitar opening to the sonically distorted bass lines of Niall Gregory, this is another piledriver of a track. A behemoth in its own right, but with a celestial undercurrent that keeps it edgy and absorbing. Gate Keeper, on the other hand is a straight up battering ram of a track. Wicked rhythm guitars with swirling lead guitars interwoven through skyward vocals make it a juggernaut that keeps on growing and expanding right to the death.

Pieris closes the album with all the nuances and shadings that littered the album right from the start. Complex but very well rounded, it shapeshifts and transforms into many different beasts, bringing closure on an album that sees Raum Kingdom take another giant leap into the upper echelons of the sludge-drenched, post metal scene. Monarch is indeed just that, however, Raum Kingdom, well they stand tall as chieftains.

Together since 2019 and hailing from Limerick, Karpackonaut have certainly stepped outside, and ticked the diversity box when it came to creating their own identity and signature sound. They play a style of music that’s snail-paced and ponderous at times, and which is weighed down by a psychedelic and stoner-cast anchor that’s hanging heavy around their necks. It’s sludgy, dirty and distorted and like any strong hallucinogen, it’s both addictive and compulsive.

Distance Sequence is their second release of 2022, and was recorded in various sessions across August/September of 2022. Free flowing and improvised right from the outset, this album is a juggernaut of a jam session, with no prep work, no retakes, just pure unadulterated off-the-cuff groove and grind. The opening track, Outwards Through Time wastes no time in giving us a taster of what these boys have in their arsenal. Big, chunky, meandering riffs and a space rock spirit that haunts the track, the music flows like molasses, slow and slumberous, with chants and screams laid out under the filthiest if bass lines.

The tribal vibes of Wordless I and the mind-altering undercurrents of Sigils show the experimental qualities and deftness these guys have beneath that stony sludge-driven metal. No two tracks sound the same, as the atmosphere and ambiance overarch on each track, triggering an aurora of light and shape that dances across the northern skies.

Things turn a lot more sludgy and muddy on Immaterial End with more down tuned guitars and a rumbling bass that reverbs from beneath your feet and rises to crack the sky. Varied vocal tones and textures layer the noise and give the music more bite and ferocity. Then you have the curtain closer, and title track Distant Sequence bringing another dimension to the Karpackonaut sound. Airy synths overlapping a melodic groove give the band that post-metal tag, as it trudges along under a lead guitar assault, spiralling and screaming freely without any set pattern, typifying the improvised stamp that verifies their style.

Off-the- cuff, unrehearsed music isn’t for everyone, but I think metal music can carry this kind of vibe. It’s raw in places, a little disjointed at times, but like any old historical building, it’s these little nuances and these minor imperfections that give it character and shitloads of attitude. Karpackonaut have character and shitloads of originality. Check it out!

https://karpackonaut.bandcamp.com/album/distant-sequence

Axis Primordial is their debut album, and on first listen it’s refreshing to hear that there’s already a maturity and a swagger about their sound. Steeped in 80’s and 90’s thrash metal, Nomadus have their roots well and truly established, but with this album, the Belfast boys have sprouted new branches that pull energy and light from other musical spectrums. There’s a slick groove and a progressive punch to their sound, that demonstrates the evolution of Nomadus, and metal music as a whole.

Opening with a track like Last Words Of Wisdom, the lads are out to show how far they have come in such a short space of time. Intricate passages, crushing riffs and memorable melodies are the foundations of the track. Snarling vocals that reverb and echo through the track adds to the sheer intensity and potency of their sound, not to mind the blinding lead solo that scurries and rifles over everything. Still thrashy and still vicious, it’s a lethal opener, and sets the scene for what’s to come.

Apex Breath’s soaring lead intro, followed by the very intentional Sepultura-phrased vocals are an absolute joy to hear. Murderous in tone, but with a harmonic edge to them, they elevate this track to another plateau. What follows is a barrage of thrash-infused brilliance that pummels and batters you just like those titans of the 80’s and 90’s did back in the day.

Instrumental tracks like Hadean are cleverly placed on the record to avoid any chance of monotony or malaise to set in, keeping everything fresh and diverse. It also acts as the perfect intro to The Ultimate Fuse, another track that has shown the evolution of Nomadus, with its patient and understated rhythm guitars, and a groove-slapped bass guitar that anchors it all together. More blistering vocals adorned with polyphonic undercurrents allow this slow burner of a track build and grow into a well-oiled and well-polished track.

Every track on this album is stellar and there’s no denying how accomplished and confident the boys are when they play together. The music is tight, the energy is palpable and the intensity reverbs through every power cord and percussive crash on this album. Even the closing track, The Passage continues its relentless journey through huge, chunky riffs and shredded rhythm swells, under the watchful eye of those soaring solos that blaze through atmosphere like a laser beam.

Axis Primordial is a statement of intent. It’s a nine-track pilgrimage through blistering riffs and ferocious vocals. But it has something else, something that Nomadus have harnessed and expertly delivered on, and that’s diversity. Thrash metal is the foundation and the nucleus of their sound, but within the rest of that cell membrane they have developed and dabbled with a more progressive sound and fused that with some groove inspired melodies, and you know what, it works!

Release Date - 25-11-2022

https://nomadus.bandcamp.com/album/axis-primordial-2

Believe the hype folks, God Alone are everything you’re hearing through the grapevine. Without question, these guys are some of the brightest and talented lads in the business, with a work ethic that is steadily paying dividends. Bands like God Alone are as scarce as hens teeth, and the reason I say that is because there are no boundaries or perimeters to their sound. The guys are young and enthusiastic, and have decades of music to study and seek inspiration from, and they are doing exactly that. Very few bands that I can think of can merge, blend and synthesize genres and styles with such ease and virtuosity. The dexterity they showed on their previous releases was like a warning shot fired high over Shandon Steeple. However, their latest album release, ETC, resembles a twenty-one gun salute off the Old Head Of Kinsale! The echo from those rifles can be heard across the pond and beyond. So, with that in mind, it’s about time we listen, embrace and bear witness to one of our finest underground bands break the mould.....when I say break, I mean shattering it to smithereens!

Tinfoil On The Walls opens the album with some unconventional percussions followed by plucky guitars and a spew of mathy rock and hardcore chants. Funky, Jazzy melodies and dare I even say ska-inspired grooves, seep their way through deathcore growls, pummeling bass guitars and shuddering riffs. The swagger and the confidence within themselves is evident as the tempo shifts and slides through indie inspired passages and non-conformant rants.

Tracks like Kung Fu Treachery harbour a darker soul than the others. Amidst its opening spanish guitars and post punk chants there’s an air of apprehension and impending doom. Erratic at times you might think, but on further listens you’ll find it’s as structured as it is disjointed. God Alone’s music is not for the faint hearted or for the verse, chorus, verse brigade. As Kung Fu Treachery rumbles through its varied patterns and tendencies, it closes in a vicious slurry of blast beats and shredded guitars, which will keep many a metal head happy.

The title track ETC attacks with a motley of metal as Ministry, And So I Watch You From Afar, Rob Zombie, The Clash and Suicidal Tendencies all fly their flags alongside the God Alone monogram. Then you have the post-metal apocalypse that is 15BM 1989 Honestly, I’m struggling to nail this bastard down! Unorthodox and down right eccentric, it’s a barrage of music and noise that will have your head spinning and rolling across the floor, mad stuff!

God Alone are not for everyone, I think thats fair to say and I’ll be honest, I sat quietly in the shadows of that group of people for a while. However, there will be a moment when the proverbial "switch" will finally go off in you head and you get that "Rain Man" moment, when all the nuances, tempos, and styles assemble together before your eyes like a 5000 piece jigsaw. It will all make sense. The conclusion I have come to is that God Alone are operating on a different scale to the rest of us, they’re always two steps ahead. They have the imagination and the foresight to keep evolving, and us mere mortals should simply follow.

Prepare to be bemused, gobsmacked, and astounded by Yurts forthcoming release. V-Upgrade To Obsolete is almost upon us, and damn what a trip it is! If time travel existed, then I’m pretty certain the time machine would be piping this album through its speakers. Yurt have somehow taken this journey already and have returned to tell the tale. It comes in the guise of V-Upgrade To Obsolete, and here's a break down of what to expect!

Paralyze opens the album with a bizarrely futuristic and synthesised intro that immediately conjures up images of the album’s artwork. However, once that bass guitar hits, the groove and rhythmical flow of Yurt is unleashed, and a kaleidoscopic, multi coloured melange of beats and tempos descend like a cyclone, hurtling riffs and progressive passages at you with relentless precision. The groove is electric, and the vocal chants add another dimension to near-retro arrangements! Coming in at just over 12 minutes, Paralyze spirals through so many musical styles, ranging from addictive System Of A Down sequences right through to those cool psychedelic vibrations of the 60’s and 70’s.

All that funk and flashiness is carried straight into the next two tracks, Upgrade To Obsolete and The Book Of Esophagus with their space-age synths and free-swinging pageantry, all doused with more 70’s flourishes and free lovin’ piano and keyboard grinding. The melody is there throughout both tracks, with the bass guitar acting as the backbone, giving the music its distinctive and outlandish shape and structure! Jazz influences meander and wander through the music like a free-flowing jamming session, all improvised and shot from the hip. Yurt have most certainly torn up the rule books and have let the blood and the creativity flow, with no agenda and no border fences holding them back.

Tracks like Breakfast In Aksum have a more straight forward psychedelic rock blueprint to them but it doesn’t stop Yurt sprinkling some fevered ad-hoc flourishes to it all, giving it a unique identity. Breaking from shredded riffs to hallucinatory keys, it’s an oddball of a track, but there lies its beauty!

My two favourite tracks on this album happen to be the last two, especially The Brand Evangelist, with its slow paced doomy undercurrents and its hugely harmonic vocals that chant and herald a rallying cry over the deep licks and riffs. Simple in structure, it’s awash with feeling and emotion, making it a very memorable passage of music. Mukbang on the other hand opens like an Iron Maiden classic, with its galloping rhythm section and again, that sweet, sweet bass guitar, that Steve Harris himself would tip his cap to! When I listened to this track for the first time, I had the most eccentric and bizarre vision of Jim Morrison and Serj Tankian standing together on stage with their respective bands, jamming and freaking out to a wall of psychedelic keys and off-beat riffs! Maybe it’s just me, but I can see The Doors influence deep within these guys sound, with modern day metal acts like System Of A down or even Cynic seeping into their heavier moments.

Whatever way you look at V - Upgrade To Obsolete, is unique, it’s refreshing and it will catapult Yurt into the throes of prog rocks modern day luminaries. There’s something new around every corner on this album, the tracks ebb and flow through decades, and at times rocket through the earth’s atmosphere, exploding into an iridescent display of magic and mayhem. This comes highly recommended, don’t miss out!

Each time Richie gives me an album to review I’m overwhelmed and blown away by the quality of the music. From funk to trash, death to black, I’ve been able to review and ultimately devour each album with ease, never struggling to embrace what I’m hearing, which in turn makes it all the easier to put it all into words!

This week I’ve been completely absorbed and aurally battered by Cavan’s very own Eternal Helcaraxe, and their forthcoming release Drown In Ash. Vicious blast beats, scowling vocals and blizzard-driven guitars whip up a frenzy of post-black atmospherics that manifest into a maelstrom of forlorn melancholia. This style of music resonates with every part of my being, from sullen moments of contemplation to soaring blackened highs, Eternal Helcaraxe have mastered and tailored the black metal genre by crossing imaginary boundaries of blackgaze, post-metal and even classical music to bring us an album that doesn't follow the pack but leads by example.

Withered Strands Of Existence opens the album with a solemn piano that laments the senses with its simple but sorrowful tone, only to be severed by an onslaught of a harrowing cry and a tirade of beautifully harmonic guitars and power-driven percussions. On first listen I couldn't help but make comparisons with St. Petersburg’s post-black titans TRNA and Show Me A Dinosaur, but also some of the modern-day black metal bands like White Ward or Gaerea, and some Primordial thrown in for good measure, all good company to be in by the way! Laced with blistering pace and hapless melodies, these guys can bring a track from 0 – 10 with ease. The underpinned riff remains throughout, hypnotic at times, but always fierce.

The title track Drowned In Ash gallops forth with great conviction through a barrage of shredded guitars and a wicked bass. Almost euphoric in places, the track can reach these moments of great celestial splendour through a haunting chant that carries through every riff and drumbeat. It must be up there come December as one of my favourite tracks of the year. Even Where Dead Things Roam Free must be considered, with its vicious tremolo riffs that erupt into a vocal onslaught of venom and bile. Even as the track changes pace and the vocals sing the words “I don't dwell in the darkness, the darkness dwells inside me. An abandoned library of forgotten words that meant something once”, everything is still high on intensity and drama.

None Of It Mattered is basically three minutes of stark, cold piano keys, but having said that it’s a welcome interlude and a clever move when you consider the highly charged pace of what has been before it. What it also does is give tracks like Ice Cold Winds and Cease a clean slate, a tabuls rasa so to speak, to allow them to begin another chapter in this black metal masterclass. Tormented black metal tongue lashings are joined by the deathly guttural growls on Cease, adding another dimension to this already multi-layered tour de force.

The epilogue to this journey comes in the shape of In Dark Woods And Dreams, and it maintains the relentless pace and power that adorned the rest of the album. Those melody driven riffs still ring fierce and potent, reminding of the hooks that Amon Amarth have mastered. Lyrics like “In dark woods and dreams, divorced from the heart, desolation a drowning solace, concealing sentimental venom” show the pain and torment that’s strewn across this track. Lush basslines and dreaded whispers break the track down to a canter, a mid-tempo slog, before unleashing hell one final time, and closing on a synthesised wave of relief and wonder, both in equal measure.

Eternal Helcaraxe may be pigeonholed as a black-metal outfit, but there are just so many other strings to their bow. They have incorporated so many musical styles into this album, and thankfully it has all kneaded together beautifully. Drown In Ash is a bleak and beautiful passage of music, where the band stand as pallbearers, bringing you through that final journey, with all the dignity and respect that their music bestows. It’s desolated and it’s forlorn but beneath those darkened cloaks, there's an uplifting and monumental slab of metal to be discovered.

https://eternalhelcaraxe.bandcamp.com/

Bleak, depressive and with a darkness that terrorises and torments, Foraoisí gan Iniúchadh, which translates to “Unexplored forests” is the creation of Tomás Hynes. Torrential post-black walls of noise with relentless blast-beaten percussions give this young musician from Co. Wexford a veil of gloom that will smother and drag you on a harrowing journey through the corridors of obscurity.

With a talent way ahead of his years, Tomás has crafted a stellar slab of atmospheric black metal that is as good as anything you will hear anywhere across the globe. I have spent the last few years falling helplessly into this genre of music, witnessing some of the bleakest and most harrowing solo projects around, and I have to say that Isolation sits very comfortably amidst all that mayhem. Vicious, melodic and all-consuming, this brand of depressive black metal can bring with it a unique and almost uplifting presence. This style of music resonates with my darker side; therefore Isolation is simply sublime.

Foraoisí gan Iniúchadh wastes no time in creating drama and suspense with the opening track Everything Turns To Black. Haunting breaths and screams, along with sinister synths and a barrage of blast beats tear the world asunder right from the off. Violent shreds and distant screams come at you like a black winter blizzard, harsh and grotesquely exciting. The music breaks into a doom-laden passage with more furious riffs and more of those guttural growls, soaked in a mid-tempo fog. A blistering introduction to the album and a sign of things to come.

See The Sun Rise, with its depressively black pace and its banshee howls bring another dimension to Tomas’s sound, all more measured but nonetheless chilling. Pink Mist follows this formula with that DSBM iciness, and its powerful crescendos of unrelenting pace and intensity.

Tracks like The Awakening are more akin to straight up black-metal, with its high tempo, fuzzy guitars and vocals. There are even some slow sombre riffs that you’d remember from the great old school death-metal bands thrown in for good measure along with some Gregorian chants to completely fuck with your head!

The Kingdom Will Die and The Souls Of The Damned bring with them a more forlorn and heart-breaking sound, with screams of desperation all tangled up in a barbed-wired ball of deeply melodic hooks and licks. These two tracks remind me of bands like Dodsrit and maybe even White Ward or Olhava. Its sullen atmospherics is its greatest gift.

Epilogue closes the album with a horror infused passage, glorifying all that’s great and melancholic in atmospheric black metal, wallowing in a sea of blackened synths that are good enough to grace any horror films closing scene. Tomás and his brainchild Foraoisí gan Iniúchadh is a must have for any of you who adorn all things dark and mystic. Isolation is the perfect soundtrack to the cold dark evenings that are gradually closing in and swallowing us up without mercy. A super release.

https://unexploredforests.bandcamp.com/album/isolation

Twenty years in the business and with album number three just released, Skypilot have shown that they don’t just release music for the sake of it, but when they do, it will always be dripping in energy, enthusiasm and groove. The County Antrim trio have harnessed all their experience that has seen them live through so many musical trends and obsessions over the last two decades, but in doing so, the boys have hammered out and album that snatches and seizes on all the finer moments of the heavy music genre and given it a warm fuzzy glow that radiates and seeps from every instrument, and onto their album Simple Beasts.

The opener, Waffledust is this brooding, mid-tempo beast that drives through these low, fuzzy, stoner riffs which, in contrast, and are the perfect accompaniment to the clean, near rasping vocals that soften the sound without diluting any of the intensity. Foot tapping hooks under head-shaking lead guitars layer the track perfectly, giving Simple Beasts an identity and a structure that sets up the rest of the album.

Octofuzz takes the intensity up a notch with some seriously heavy, leaden riffs and steely drums before stripping it back down again, giving the vocals and that groove-soaked bass guitar their moment to shine. The vocal chorus penetrates and ploughs through some real dirty rhythm guitars, making Octofuzz a very catchy and memorable track. Even the title track Simple Beast, with its more laid back and nonchalant approach, is still smothered in that glorious fuzz that dominates the album. Through clean, plucked guitars and softly spoken lyrics the music meanders around “this simple beast” and powers the intent home with a near-certain, crowd-chanting finale.

As I mentioned earlier, these guys have time and experience in abundance, and it can be found embellishing every track on the album. Flourishes of prog-metal, grunge and old school heavy metal are to be found everywhere. Tracks like Klusterfun has this clever harmonic vocal arrangement that brings you down an Alice In Chains rabbit hole, only to have you burrowing back up through the slick bass lines of Jazz Klub and its sticky, but very tasty Pearl Jam licks.

8 in the face and Through the window bring more distorted, hazy riffs that wouldn’t look out of place on any TOOL album. When these guys bring it, their intense wall of sound suffocates and consumes through those stony-faced rumblings and the near metronomic might of the Skypilot percussions. Even little nuances such as those little scratches towards the end of Through the window all add to the experience and overall depth of this album.

The closing track, and if I’m not mistaken, the second single released from the album, Knifed on the beach really does sum up what Skypilot are all about. Harmonic vocals, heaving riffs, clambering drums and a bass guitar that has all the 70’s groove and flair you’d find on the streets of San Francisco, make this group of musicians a tour de force. I’m repeating myself again, but fuck it, it needs to be said. The Irish metal scene is thriving, bubbling away in a cauldron of talent, ferocity and intensity. Another landmark release and another album to add to your end of year “best of” list. A list that keeps on giving…and growing!

Right, so where do I start here! As that old saying goes, first impressions last, and my first impression of Organ Blender’s Teemu Khan was one of a deranged and frenzied mind that has spun out of all control, hurtling through some kind of parallel universe which is aesthetically futuristic, but at the same time, suppressed in a 90’s bubble. The Galway trio have created a post-apocalyptic world where the soundtrack to life reeks of industrial and death metal but has somehow been injected with a new-wave, avant-garde antidote that has given it a life of its own. And it’s that cocktail of sorts that makes Organ Blender a hugely compelling and highly absorbing proposition.

Electronic sampling opens the first track Will It Blend, with its industrial drums and its gritty gravelled vocals. That vibe continues right into Bear Song, with its unmistakable “Godflesh meets Ministry” musical concoction that pounds and crashes through filthy riffs and blurring bass lines. Tracks like Station bring another, more menacing presence into the mix with its guttural bellows and black-metal screeches, that become transfused with spoken samples and industrial clammer.

Rob Zombie riffs give Captain Krunch an identity and a face, maybe the album cover depicts this dark foreboding character we see in the future, who knows! Vocals run in parallel with the rhythm guitars, giving the track a groove and a pattern that sucks you in and feeds off your soul with those nasty vocals, crushing blast beats and sci-fi riffs. Tracks like Blast Choir continues that high tempo tirade, again, triggering memories akin to Ministry’s TV2, with that lo-fi production and its furious delivery. You gotta hand it to Organ Blender here, Teemu Khan never rests on its laurels, always a step ahead, always keeping you on your toes with its varied structures and tempos. Each track brings something fresh, unorthodox, and brilliantly bizarre!

I couldn’t possibly review and break down all 14 tracks on this album but what I will say is that each track, although firmly rooted in death and industrial metal, brings an eccentric but well-balanced blend of all musical styles, and fabricates something special and downright sublime. From the urban sampling at the end of King to the alarming and frantic pace of Meltdown, every track brings ridiculous energy and potency, but always stamped with its own USP.

The Faith No more inspired intro of Mr. Cool brings a very different vibe with it. Its simplistic but ingenious use of synths is a release from the mayhem and craziness that has gone before it. Even the techno inspired Teemu Khan is awash with originality, with the atmospherics leaning heavily on the futuristic presence of the album artwork. The final three tracks of the album, Voice, Space Rave and The Nasty 90’s take their inspiration from the darkwave and ambient spectrum of the metal scene. Its sinister and unnerving edge brings the listener on one final journey, a nightmare, where white noise and voices fill your head, making you feel uneasy and unsure. It’s a perfect way to finish an album that you will struggle to comprehend or even understand, but that doesn’t matter. It resonates with the masochistic and sadistic side of us, that part of the brain that we tend to draw a veil over and keep under lock and key, until now!

I have to say, I just love everything about Strangers With Gun’s sound. The raw energy and honesty that they conjure up in their music is sprawled right across their second full length album All Pleasure Is Just Relief. Their music always brings me back to simpler times, as a young fella hanging out around the streets with the lads, kicking around a football, listening to old school rock, punk and metal without a care in the world. Like the music back then, this album is heavy and manic at times, with savage beats and riffs bulging out of its over-inflated pigskin as it’s kicked and thumped off the urban, concrete walls, while those punk styled vocals and lyrics scrawl and spray-paint their tirades all over the graffiti leaden barriers. This album has all the attitude and energy of three decades of music, all brought together and given that unique Strangers With Guns treatment.

Phuque is a sprint through the narrow laned streets of Dublin, soaked in attitude and power, providing the soundtrack to some kind of high-stake chase through the expanding concrete jungle. Its high intensity riffs and its gritty, urban vocals give the track an identity that’s uniquely Strangers With Guns, taken straight from their hometown and the everyday life that most metropolitan cities hold within them. It’s a high-octane track that would summarise the band in one fowl swoop.

The next track, Dial It Back is another beast with its heavy rhythm guitars and rolling drums. Verbal chants dominate the track with their infectious Suicidal Tendencies shouts and thrash metal nuances. That infectious groove continues right into I Am Henry Rollins Now and as the track clearly states, it pays homage to the man himself with its angry and bitter diatribe. A steely bass breaks the track in half later on, all the time smothered in stoner solos that spiral from floor to ceiling like an impromptu exhibition piece.

So How Are You Feeling’s jamming groove and Not Your Day's nod to Gangsters Paradise show the bands willingness to sample, experiment and invent something fresh, that’s found hidden way outside the box. I think It’s that very thing that gives Strangers With Guns that endearing and magnetic pull. Tracks like Positive Vibes give you exactly that. It's music to replenish and charge the batteries to. Even the interlude That’s Kinda Nice is, well…. kinda nice! They say it how they see it!

The final two tracks on All Pleasure Is Just Relief come at you right out of leftfield. Perception has a Blur vibe no less, with its Coffee and TV melody raining through the choruses, and then you have Why and its dreamy psychedelic smoothness muddied up with some droning spoken words and dense metal breakdowns that again, to these ears, ring of Suicidal Tendencies, which has to be a good thing! The track and album closes on a simple strummed guitar that is the complete opposite of how it all started out on Phuque. That just shows you how diverse and imaginative Stranger With Guns have become. They’re growing and developing into exactly what they want to be, without following rules and labels. It’s refreshing, it’s infectious, and it’s Irish!

These Irish tormentors have been around a very long time. I’m going right back to the nineties here, and y’know something, it’s testament to the dedication and skill that Abaddon Incarnate have amassed on their almost divine journey through the carnage and decimation of the grindcore and death metal landscape. It’s that doggedness and perseverance that has these guys still releasing their spiteful and ruthless brand of music that pulverises the listener without apology. The Wretched sermon is a thirteen-track album that transitions through varied metal styles, incorporating the speed and menace of thrash, while blending it with some deeply melodic and atmospheric undertones. It will still peel the flesh from your bones with its rusted and blunted blade, but dare I say it, there is a refinement about it, an unbuffed polish that has galvanised them and made them more foreboding than ever before.

Take for instance Rising Of The Lights, which wastes no time in showcasing Abaddon Incarnate’s intent with its skin shredding riffs and battered percussions. The tirade of Steve Maher enters beneath a torrent of skyward lead solos and a pummelling bass line. There is no let-up in this beast of a track, so much so that it drives flawlessly into the next track Veritas with its vitriolic and scathing onslaught, all consumed at the speed of light.

The tendency to lean on their death metal influences weigh heavy on tracks like Epic Desecration. The melody emanating from the guitar of Bill Whelan is a nod to the gods that dominated those nineties death metal days. Even tracks like Parasite reek of Sepultura’s Chaos AD which has been drowned in an acid bath, with some of Brutal Truths most hostile riffs and hooks thrown in for good measure.

It’s probably a little unfair to compare a band like Abaddon Incarnate with other bands of the same era, as they both shared the stage at that time, but still have their own identity. Sometimes you just have to make reference to certain bands or sounds that will potentially bring forth a new listener or fan to the Abaddon Incarnate lynch mob!

Into The Maelstrom…….holy shit, where do you start. The power and pace of this track is insane, whipping up a cyclone of near black metal ferocity and savagery, blast beaten to oblivion by the limbs of Olan Parkinson. Every beat and crash is plucked and picked in unison by the spider fingers of bassist Irene Siragusa, whose hands of steel show no mercy. This track is a favourite of mine from the album and has been played on repeat when life decides to take a dump and leave you frustrated. Music for the soul! A black soul at least!

Pre-released tracks like Shrine of Flesh and Silent Indifference only whet the appetite and give the scent of blood for what is to be unleashed to the masses in a few weeks’ time. The Wretched Sermon has everything you want from Abaddon Incarnate, but I believe they have somehow found another gear, an injection of pace and power, if that is even possible. Some bands age well, others don’t. In an age where music is becoming ever more disposable, Abaddon Incarnate have unleashed hell and raised the bar of extreme music once more with The Wretched Sermon. It’s aggressive and its relentless music, expelling caustic and sometimes acidic venom that soaks through your pores, leaving you in a state of numbed terror and hysteria. That’s exactly what grindcore and death metal music should do to you. Mission accomplished here.

https://abaddonincarnateband.bandcamp.com/

The Irish metal scene is on a high, there’s no denying that. Every genre and musical style is sprawled across the country. Dublin’s Irish/Brazilian quartet, The Risen dread have unleashed an album that commands everyone’s attention. Believe me, Night Hag is a beast of an album that whips up a storm right from the off. Buckle up and enjoy the ride!

Psychoses’ horror filled intro is awash with synths and immediate suspense. Well, that is until a vocal delivery that needs measuring on the Richter scale, bellows up from the fires of hell, and triggers a barrage of high octane, eighties influenced thrash diatribe that swings like a steel beam on a crane, in a hurricane, pendulously swaying between deathly growls to blackened screeches. A thundering intro to an album that’s obese with energy.

With eleven tracks on Night Hag, I don’t have enough time to step through every track, but I did have to pause and mention the second track Silent Disease. A super catchy melody with vocals that act as another instrument following the harmonies and tempo of the music. That mid-tempo gallop is laced with Iron Maiden melodies and Amon Amarth chant-ability. Then you have a Paradise Lost solos from the Gothic era bringing the track to a close amidst a fury of double bass kicks. This track really drags you by the scruff of the neck, through decades!

Obsession opens in a barrage of machine gun fire, spraying ammunition along the wall of death metal. Chugging riffs with blasting vocals lay siege, but that funky bass line courtesy of Mat Maher is the centre piece of this track, acting as the catalyst for what follows. If I was to hear influences on this track, then Gojira have stamped their presence here from start. But that bass line, fuck me, it’s infectious! The Gojira effect plays no small part in the next track Sound Of The Unknown, and seriously, The Risen Dread would give them a good run for their money, such is the talent and power on show. Another gritty, stomping creation, with William Ribeiro tearing it up on guitar.

Now, lets take a moment before we tackle White Night. There are not many bands out there that can grab the attention of the likes of Andreas Kisser. For those unfamiliar with the name, he’s a Sepultura legend. The Risen Dread got this guy to play on this track, and even without Andreas’s input, this is a juggernaut. From the moment the air raid sirens ring out and that drum beat kicks in, grinding riffs and a swirling lead guitar hooks you by the jowls and doesn’t let go. Blistering vocals and venomously plucked bass strings, along with a devil horned chorus drives the track through an onslaught of melody and might. It’s a beast of a track and to be fair, the highlight must be that wicked solo from Kisser. As I write this review, I’m on my fourth listen of White Night, such is the quality of the track.

It’s extremely hard to highlight any standout musicians here as these guys are all on fire throughout this album, but I have to say that Marco Feltrin’s vocals are absolutely insane, with a range that would shatter concrete and split the sky in one foul swoop. Coward’s 9 highlights it to the max, and is another groove driven track that explodes on impact. Lazzaretto’s high intensity riffs and crazy tempo changes keep this machine thundering along, relentlessly forging its own trail through a blizzard of aggression.

The Closing track, and the title track of the album, The Night Hag is awash with atmosphere and theatre, think Moonspell and Tiamat from the nineties and you will get an idea of the drama and suspense that the opening three minutes conjure up. With the likes of Brazilian composer Renato Zanuto writing the score, there’s no wonder it’s so big and grandiose. Colum Cleary’s drumming is something to behold throughout the album, but those high-speed kicks are savage on The Night Hag.

Irish metal is in safe hands when you hear the quality of the musicianship here on Night Hag. The Brazilian influence is colossal and gives The Risen Dread another edge that’s razor sharp. Josh Sid Robinson has done an amazing job in producing this album, giving every instrument room to breathe and be heard. What more can I say, only give this album a listen and try catch them live if they hit your town. I’ve no doubt it will blow you away.

The Magnapinna have taken all that's great about music over the last twenty-five years and made it feel fresh and alive again. The energy, musicianship and overall vibe is electrifying on Party Rumours. Here's a brief run through the record and here's hoping it whets the appetite for its Valentine's release!

The opening track I Kennedy is an immediate favourite for me on this album. I really hate to constantly compare bands to others, but the Faith No More influence hangs on every word and every riff. It’s short, it’s powerful and it punches you square in the jaw. There’s a high-speed tirade that closes the track, but it also opens the gateways for the rest of the album. It’s one of those opening tracks that gives you an indication where the album is going without ruining too many of the surprises that are littered right throughout the album.
The title track Party Rumours is a short groovy melody that requests your participation in chanting the chorus, “try and live with it!" A sharp short shot of fun and a nod to the early 2000’s.

Monday is one of those songs that grabs you by the neck and hurtles you across the dance floor amidst a fevered rush to the stage, with its funky System Of A Down Radio/Video Inspired hooks and vibes. Without a moment to gasp for air, Avalanche begins with a mudslide of chugging riffs and dual lead swells that complement the crisp clean vocals that are delivered with swagger and a carefree attitude, courtesy of Xtian. Avalanche’s stoner-rock rhythms rattle and roll as chants from Howard's backing vocals give the track huge depth and attitude. “Heave and roll” chants ricochet from ear to ear right through to the final narrative… “Follow your destiny, you must believe in me”.

The hooks continue as Decision Time waltzes in unannounced with a groove that crawls deep under your skin, like a tick in the long grass that finds a home in the warmest crevice of your being. The rhythm is addictive, powering between flashes of Faith No More and Red Hot Chili Peppers...well, pre-Californication anyway, y'know, back in the good ole days! The album gets momentarily flipped on its head as the listener is synthesised into the very Irish, and very tongue-in-cheek parody Gay Byrne Cosplay. The dance inspired bass lines and the deep rooted “techno techno techno techno” lyrics will be imprinted on your brain for days, wrecking all heads around you.

Creep is a kind of radio friendly track, simply because of its crisp clean guitars and cheeky vocal delivery. Those female backing vocals act as an extra layer of insulation around the track, warming you to every hook and nuance that pepper the track as the song ploughs along. If you weren’t already rocking out of your seat after Creep, more roguery and mischief is splattered across the flamboyant NFR. Catchy choruses and a high-octane barrage of guitars from Howard and James, fused with Ed's crashing drums whip up a frenzy of quirky antics and chopping vocals.

Gloria funks the shit out of it with a wicked bass line courtesy of Mike, that leads the charge for guitars to shred in a way System Of A Down did but try and visualise Mike Patton fronting this make-believe line up. Chants and chugs barrel their way through the track before opening into a chorus of Gloria, Magnapinna style. Change the frequency, It’s an anomaly. A live favourite I guarantee.

The final two tracks, Widow Maker and Doxxing are of a similar vein musically with Widow Maker rattling the ribcage with its deathly, guttural growls that trade off against Xtian's clean acrobatic delivery. A fury of noise and an abrupt press of the eject button ends the track before the fun comes to an end with the Pantera inspired intro of Doxxing, and its gritty and chunky riffs that grind and pummel their way over Xtian's effervescent vocal onslaught. A fitting end to an album that is full of energy and ideas, and it delivered each and every time.

When you listen to The Magnapinna, don't mistake fun for absurdity. These guys can play and have a natural flair for making music that's interesting, explosive and dynamic. Hybridizing modern metal with the funkier sounds of past decades has given *The Magnapinna * their very own USP and are not afraid to flaunt it. A stellar release.

Pic taken by Janer Ali at The Exploited in Voodoo Dublin 2018