The various listens I had over the previous week, first staying up-to-date on current releases before going through the ages to listen to an older release.
First up is the newer releases:
Lesson in Violence-The Thrashfall of Mankind (84/100)
The debut release from the Germany thrashers. Thick, crunchy riffing, furious drumming, and short rhythms create a generally heavy effort with tight patterns and tons of energy throughout. Blazing through the kind of riff-work associated with the Bay Area movement complete with the tempo changes from mid-tempo crunches and full-scale ragers, the slight pacing changes, and accompanying drum-work that switches up the grooves from bouncy to frenzied offers a lot to like. The tight patterns and crunch-filled riffing that comes completely out of the Exodus playbook, though, might be too familiar for some, especially for those turned off by the production that mixes them way too loud and overpowering in the mix that they drown out some of the arrangements and force the vocals to fight through the volume at a detrimental cost. However, being a debut, it's a slight issue overall.
Final Cry-The Ever-Rest (78/100)
The sixth full-length release from the German melodic Thrash/Death Metal effort. Hard-charging riffs and steady rhythms throughout here focus on a straightforward series of thrashy tracks with slight variation pieces within them. When going for more energetic pieces, this one features tighter patterns with fiery drumming which manages to carry this along at a sprightly tempo as the heavier sections combine together quite nicely. Slowly the tempos down into sprawling chugs with tremolo-laced melodic leads brought to the forefront even more obviously than in the thrashier pieces, there's a fine if generally formulaic approach taken here with this setup. On its own, there's nothing wrong with this formula but the fact that everything here follows this format makes the album feel predictable rather easily once you realize the straightforward nature of the tracks won't change much once it's set into motion.
Blazemth-The Return of Lucifer (90/100)
The long-awaited full-length debut from the Spanish Black Metal horde. Furious frosty riffing, atmospheric patterns, and steady drum-work create a highly infectious old-school approach that has quite a lot to like. The general lack of variation here means the frantic riffing carries steady tremolo rhythm melodies and straightforward blasting sections to offer a brimstone-spiced atmosphere full of violence yet still keeping a melodic edge. That the steady approach makes everything either hard-charging gallops with driving rhythms and blasting patterns or swirling atmospheric tremolo riffing and mid-tempo paces leaves this one vicious and melodic in equal measure even though everything here is full-on utilized by the European Second-Wave scene in the early 90s. It's all very familiar and does drag this down somewhat slightly but not enough to be truly detrimental overall.
Embryonic Devourment-Heresy of the Highest Order (94/100)
The fourth full-length album from the US Brutal/Tech Death Metal crew. Churning riff-work, complex patterns, and blasting drumming create a whirlwind affair of sprawling multi-layered facets throughout here. The light guitar tones whip through a variety of challenging arrangements, chugging patterns, and tight rhythms all balanced by equally complex bass lines and dexterous drumming which makes for a highly impressive attack overall. Switching between sprawling, long-awaited sections that allow the technical complexity to run wild or shorter, blistering tempos offering a more brutal backdrop to the technical displays gives this a fun time as well with a highly likable attack. Adding in the samples that enhance the album's lyrical themes of sci-fi and space technology gone amok that's present in the atmospheric melodies present really sells this one that much more info a coherent release.
Soulcarrion-Infernal Affairs (90/100)
The debut release from the Polish Death Metal newcomers. Tight raging riffing, thumping rhythms, and thrashing drums fire along at a frantic tempo mixed along with the straightforward nature of the riff-work to offer up simplistic old-school patterns throughout. The grinding patterns and thumping rhythm-work here are incredibly focused on Swedish-style churning that's mixed quite nicely with a variety of raging tremolos or steady chugging tempos that are in place for a highly enjoyable and effective attack. Taking the heaviness of the various styles into a compact worship of the early stages of the genre that features the straightforward styles and tons captured by the scenes' originators without really changing it up could offer a sense of familiarity that's somewhat detrimental here. However, the professional approach and overpowering enjoyment this features is more prominent.
Iron Griffin-Storm of Magic (75/100)
The second full-length from the Finnish Metallers. Simple majestic rhythms, plodding patterns, and a light folk-accented atmosphere create a stripped-down and melodic effort overall. The soft rhythms and folk accents here recount more of a medieval minstrel feel which is enhanced by the light, airy production that opts for a drier sound with organic tones than modernized sounds. Even the spacey keyboards in the background engage a more old-school approach when combined with the lethargic tempos of the droning riffs and plodding drums-work which might be an issue. Likewise, some might find the odd production off-putting given the laid-back nature of the recording that provides more prominent vocals over quieter instrumentation, leaving this one to disappear into the background at times when kept at a lower volume while listening. These are the most detrimental factors here.
Chronomancy-Shadows in Atlantis (84/100)
The sophomore full-length from the Greek Power Metallers. Thumping folk rhythms, majestic melodies and tight drumming produce a dynamic mixture of melodic straightforward Power Metal and folk accents. The main focus on highly orchestral rhythms and tight mid-tempo patterns that keep it heavy and rather simplistic in approach so that the deviations into blazing Speed Metal passages or majestic folk melodic accents stand out even more. That these are never given prominence in the arrangements and serve exactly as accents to help the straightforward thumping style here is a positive, although this does manage to highlight the monotone style of the vocals over the straightforward rhythms here which can feel draining instead of epic or triumphant which seems to be the goal. It's not too bad but could serve as a minor nuisance for some.
Blackslash-No Steel No Future (86/100)
The fourth full-length album from the Germany Heavy Metallers. Straightforward charging riff-work, classy melodies, and steady rhythms offer a fine old-school approach with a fiery attitude keeping things upbeat and up-tempo throughout. Focusing on steady riffing full of crunchy patterns and energetic melodies that are wrapped together in a straightforward series of rhythms without much deviation in the arrangements, there's a full-on retro atmosphere surrounding this that's quite infectious and enjoyable. While generally keeping things upbeat with the rhythms presented here, the slower tempos stand up somewhat due to the fiery dynamics here being quite obvious and too sluggish to support the tracks dipping into these paces compared to the more vibrant enthusiasm displayed elsewhere. As well, none of this should be considered original at all but there's still a lot to like with this one.
And for our classic release:
Conquest (Ukr)-Endless Power (96/100)
The debut release from the Ukrainian Power Metal act under the name. Scorching melody-driven Speed Metal riffing, thumping rhythms, and thunderous pounding drum work create an intense blend of speed-drenched tracks dripping with melodic bombast. Fusing energetic riffing, compact structures and frantic drumming creates a fiery whirlwind of blazing Speed Metal passages that offer vents of technicality while still driving forward with old-school melodies for a generally frenetic effort. The straightforward style that keeps everything barreling along without let up makes this one rather simplistic and easy to enjoy as the opening moments give a hint as to where this one goes with the opening riff working through the song in some fashion which does leave out some surprises but also enhances the fun with no shortage of likable riff-work throughout. However, the speed and melodic firepower on display are more than enough to hold this one up.
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