TWELVE YEARS OF UNWANTED OPINION
Can I get a reeeeee, a skreee and possibly a breeeee? EarDelete play glacial paced “grindcore” with silly vocals and party atmosphere, and in this case an overarching theme of the devil somehow being involved, for reasons beyond my comprehension. Production is good, but the best thing about this is the guitar; thick and chunky with a dark tone. Tidy.
Both bands absolutely kill it on this split. Talk about high energy! Both sessions have fresh takes on the grind template and the production is clear and punchy enough to let both of these projects really shine. Short, sharp and fucking chaotic.
A little rough around the edges considering the scope and depth of songwriting, but is so in a very endearing kind of way. I’m drawn in by the atmospheric / instrumental passages, and kept engaged by a combination of frantic carnage and shrieking vocals, which is backed with an urgent and triumphant sense of melody that does not let up throughout.
I’ve never been much of a fan of Johnny Cash but do enjoy a spin of the covers now and then. There is a morose feel to the whole record, which is known primarily for “Hurt” let’s be honest, but despite this, sadness and perhaps a weariness permeates every second of this thing. The production is simply gorgeous, allowing the rustic Americana of these interpretations to fully shine. A classic record, for sure.
I love the mix of crushing doom metal and more traditional instrumental passages, which use all manner of different sounds to build the atmosphere. Anyone who puts a church organ on a doom record is a genius in my book. The production is also fantastic and the length of this thing, seemingly impenetrable at first, opens up the album like some sort of sprawling journey or concept album. Granted, this type of death/doom at the core here is not particularly original and may put some people off due to its limited sound palette, but for those into such things you can’t really go wrong with this album.
Ah yes, THE Electric Wizard, everyone’s favourite dope smoking fuzz fiends. Not sure what inspired that brief name change, but I am glad they reverted back after this album. We Live! seems to be a transitional period for the band, with Jus moving the band away from their “classic” lineup and still – honestly – having not found their stride with the newer incarnation of the band. This would come in spades with Witchcult Today, but We Live! is still well worth your time. The production is fairly clear for a EW album (lol) and some of the songs are absolutely incredibly, such as the opening track as well as “Saturn’s Children”.
Dark, moody, slushy, obtuse “vaporwave” from one of the more immediately aesthetically recognisable projects in the genre. Imagine the kind of thing you’d usually hear on a dungeon synth record but chopped, sliced and obfuscated from you in a hazy cloud of what is essentially a blob of hypnagogic sound.
A catchy song but one that doesn’t really sound like Borgore, at least the Borgore I know from Ruined Dubstep etc – this little number is more in line with mainstream electronic music. I wouldn’t call it a club track. It sounds more like something you’d hear in the background of a gaming compilation video on YouTube or something.
You may recognise the name of this EP. Yes it is the name I “borrowed” for my blog, YouTube channel and eventual RYM profile. It also made SEO for the first two things on that list absolutely impossible lmao, but there we go, you live and learn. Lines In Wax is a four track EP that is stacked with bangers, in all fairness. I guess this falls into the whole brostep / dubstep thing, but tbh it just seems like bad dance music that belongs in the 2010s. I love it for what it is, but whether it will be remembered so fondly but the average electronic music is debatable.
Proclamation often get it in the neck for being “derivative” – but is it possible (at all) to not be derivative in the microgenre that is war metal? Either way, I don’t give too much of a shit personally, because Advent Of The Black Omen is fucking class. Expect muddy, downtuned guitars, endless spastic drumming and vokills to invoke the horn-ed one. Y’know, it sounds like war metal. Don’t forgot to break out your bullet belt(s) for this one.
Muddy, nasty, gory death metal a la Mortician, slightly underdone, more blue than rare, but still tasty all the same. I have a very (penetrable?) soft spot for Fluids despite calls that they are nought but a derivative copy. I think the success of their “rise” through the “world” of “modern death metal” and the number of vinyl and cassettes these guys have sold would perhaps indicate that the haters are indeed wrong (who would have thought?). I know you can’t measure artistic talent by number of albums sold, but in such a small and stifling world as this there are clearly a lot of people listening to Fluids and enjoying it. Anyway, Ignorance Exalted is pretty great – not perfect – and well worth a listen. If you had to do one track only I’d recommend “Capped”.