Author: Cheryl

Bleak Metal // Scene Point Blank // Metal Hammer

Bastard Sapling – Dragged From Our Restless Trance

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Bastard Sapling are another band from the Forcefield Records roster (and unsurprisingly are from Richmond, Virginia), yet they are nothing at all like the other two bands previously featured on Bleak Metal – Unholy Thoughts and The Catalyst. This record is actually, y’know, bleak. Sometimes I like to change things up ok. But back to the point, Bastard Sapling’s debut first appeared on cassette a couple of months ago and now Forcefield Records are preparing to release the record on vinyl, and evidently have a couple of pre-order bundles ready to be finalised. All pertinent details can be found on their website, so check that out ASAP.

1. Prophecy Born from Dismal Terrain
2. Cold Winds Howled Across the Desolation
3. The Apex of Suffering
4. Beyond the Void of Life

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The Catalyst – Voyager

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Following hot on the heels of the recently reviewed Unholy Thoughts, comes another Virginia based Forcefield Records band (is there something in the water there?) – a group going by the name of The Catalyst – who have Voyager to offer the world and also the universe. These guys are kinda wonky and definitely enjoy the odd trip or two (take that phrase however you like) into the outer reaches. Evidently this is the first records sans a second drummer – you thought Kylesa had the monopoly on that? Think again. But that loss does no harm to the sound The Catalyst manage to produce over the forty minute running time. Throwing in punk influences, touches of sludge and even the odd dual vocal, The Catalyst are pretty darn devastating considering.

1. (The Final Voyage Of The) Spaceship Catalyst
2. King of Swords
3. Square Waves
4. Occult Blood
5. Septagon
6. Jupiter Brain
7. Breathers
8. Big Bend
9. Open High
10. Voyager

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Kvlt Albvm Ov The Weak

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This edition of Kvlt Albvm Ov The Weak is a little different to others. Don’t be alarmed, it’s still totally dark but not in the way you’ve come to expect.

This time around….it’s AFI. OK, it’s not “trve kvlt grimmmmmmmm” black metal (deal with it); but this record is incredibly dark and twisted and there’s a depth to it that I appreciate more and more as I get older and older. I guess I should explain.

I love AFI.

They are the first band I really and truly fell for. I mean, I liked bands before that and Metallica were the first band I really got into, but there was something about AFI that spoke to me a on level I hadn’t experienced before. And I was fourteen. What the hell did I know?!?!

Black Sails in the Sunset still sounds as good today as it did the first time I heard it. The record after this, The Art of Drowning continued on the gothic path forged by it’s predecessor and then came the magnificent Sing The Sorrow. What happened after that….no one likes to talk about. So let us relive the glory days of one the most vital punk bands of their day.

1. Strength Through Wounding

2. Porphyria

3. Exsanguination

4. Malleus Maleficarum

5. Narrative of Soul Against Soul

6. Clove Smoke Catharsis

7. The Prayer Position

8. No Poetic Device

9. Weathered Tome

10. The Last Kiss

11. At a Glance

12. God Called in Sick Today

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Bong – Mana-Yood-Sushai

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I originally wrote this for inclusion in Metal Hammer. Alas, there was some kind of technical error and the piece was double commissioned. I’m interested to see what the other writer named Carter thinks of Bong’s newest release but for now, here are my thoughts*

1. Dreams of Mana-Yood-Sushai
2. Trees, Grass and Stones

Mana-Yood-Sushai heralds the first Bong studio recording in their prolific seven year history and it’s a surprising addition to their output so soon after last years full length Beyond Ancient Space. Two tracks of vibrating drone make up this release and whilst it’s lovingly crafted and deftly handled, there’s a little something missing. Mana-Yood-Sushai feels too sterile – the unfamiliar environment of the studio perhaps affecting the tone. The thrumming undercurrent of manipulated sound pulses and pushes around soft drum rolls and flourishes of sitar expertly, but Bong seem content to let the twenty minute run time of first track “Dreams of Mana-Yood-Sushai” pass with nary a moment to marvel over. It’s hypnotic sure, but not captivating enough to completely hold the attention. Drone should transport you into another dimension and the Indian instrumentation used by Bong is otherworldly in texture and depth, yet it’s not until the murmuring vocal filters through “Trees, Grass and Stones” does Mana-Yood-Sushai start to take shape. Unfortunately, it’s a case of too little too late for this otherwise bewitching act.

As is customary, I also gave it a score.

6/10

*I have been given permission to use this, please don’t strike me down Hammers Gods.

Kvlt Albvm Ov The Weak

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I know, it’s been ages since I last wrote something proper here. I’ve been too busy not having a life and….. well….. Skyrim kinda took over.

Worry not though, the ever majestic world of kvlt albvm’s is here to save the day. This time around, it’s Worship. Fucking doom. Yes, ok, it’s not black metal as most of these kvlt albvm posts have been, but the story of Worship is pretty fucking kvlt. I swear. Have a look!

1. Whispering Gloom

2. Solicide And The Dawning Of The Moonkult

3. Eclipse Of Sorrow

4. Worship

5. Keep On Selling Cocaine To Angels

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It’s The End Of The Year Or Whatever….

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It’s that time of year again, where everyone goes all out to prove their exemplary credentials as a music lover and that they indeed are, the most metal. A time of year where lists abound – “Look at my fantastic taste everyone! Look at all the things I listen to that you’ve never heard of! Look at how obscure my musical interests are!”

It’s with that in mind, that I bash out a list of my own. If you’re interested in what my top six demo releases of the year are, check ’em out here: http://www.cvltnation.com/topsixdemos/

And for a list featuring things that aren’t metal at all (although yes, a lot of what you see below is on it), this is a link that has my personal top 25 on it: http://www.scenepointblank.com/features/music/scene-point-blanks-favorites-year-end-2011/2

As an aside, my top album of the year is Rome – Die Æsthetik der Herrschaftsfreiheit. I’m not including it here, because it isn’t metal and afterall, this is a metal blog right? I made a review of it, which you can read by clicking the title. Cool!

Again, for reasons of fairness, this will be alphabetical. Also, I just really like to alphabetise. Who knows how many will end up on this.

Absu – Abzu

Altar Of Plagues – Mammal

Aphrenous – Ravaged By The Incessant Scourge Of Deception

Arckanum – Helvítismyrkr

Ash Borer – Ash Borer

Barghest – Barghest

Bestial Raids – Prime Evil Damnation

Bosse-de-Nage – ii

Brocken Moon – Huffnungslos

Caïna – Hands That Pluck

Circle Of Ouroborus – Eleven Fingers

Cold Body Radiation – Deer Twillight

Corrupted – Garten Der Unbewusstheit

Craft – Void

Esoteric – Paragon Of Dissonance

40 Watt Sun – The Inside Room

Giles Corey – Giles Corey

Goatmoon – Varjot

Gottesmorder – Gottesmorder

Lake Of Blood – As Time And Tide Erodes Stone

Light Bearer – Lapsus

Mournful Congregation – The Book Of Kings

Necros Christos – Doom Of The Occult

Negative Plane – Stained Glass Revelations

Panopticon – Social Disservices

Sutekh Hexen – Luciform

Taake – Noregs Vaapen

Ulcerate – The Destroyers Of All

Woods Of Desolation – Torn Beyond Reason

Wreck & Reference – Black Cassette

Giles Corey – Giles Corey

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I’ve been trying to write something about this album for nigh on a week now (and by the time I actually get round to posting this, it’ll have been two months). There’s so much I want to say about it. But I don’t feel like there’s anything I could possibly do to make you understand exactly how this record will affect you. At the core, this is an album that deals with a deep depression and the subsequent thoughts and need to take that depression to an extreme.

Dan Barrett (Have A Nice Life) is the man behind this project.

Dan Barrett wanted to kill himself.

This is the examination of that period of his life. And ultimately whether it was and is, worth carrying on.

1. The Haunting Presence

2. Blackest Bile

3. Grave Filled With Books

4. Empty Churches

5. I’m Going To Do It

6. Spectral Bride

7. No One Is Ever Going To Want Me

8. A Sleeping Heart

9. Buried Above Ground

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Wreck And Reference – Black Cassette

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Electronic doom huh ? But that’s not even a thing !

Well. That’s where you’re mistaken. Because electronic doom is probably the best label you can put on Wreck And Reference. A band creating doom soundscapes using naught but electronic wizardry. And some drums.

1. All The Ships Have Been Abandoned

2. Surrendering

3. In Chains, Awakening

4. Evening Redness

5. Desire, Ether

6. A Lament

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