Morbus Chron - Sweven (2014) Review

Album | Sweven
Country | Sweden
Genre | Death Metal
Label | Century Media Records

| Aurora In the offing |

Up and rising from Sweden, Morbus Chron come with their second full length Sweven, this time under the banner of Century Media, two years after their previous EP release in 2012. For the people that are not familiar with the band, confusion and curiosity should be common feelings, as these guys don't follow any rules at all with what they do, in a way that even the label "death metal" is somehow misleading. The first positive shock came with the colorful Sleepers in the Rift in 2011 and now it's time again to praise them for another glorious release. If you think you have listened it all when it comes to death metal from Sweden, Morbus Chron are always ready for a punch to the standards.

One can smell the peculiarity of the record from it's very album cover. Where are the skeletons, the graves and the well placed gore drawings? There aren't any because the band isn't of that kind, at least musically, which makes them even more interesting at first listen. The enigmatic painting of the growing face figure and the haze of blue / purple / white / black colors have an obvious artistic touch that only modern metal nerds would enjoy, it could fit to various non-metal albums and that's why die hard fans might already build hating momentum. Since I enjoy both sides of the river, I entered Sweven (which means something like a dream, adding to the album's looks) with a good mood.

The album is quite longer than their previous full length, climbing up to fifty two minutes in length (when Sleepers in the Rift was around thirty five) which makes it quite a tome of music. It's not easy to break it into parts either as the tracks are connected, a characteristic that helps a lot the flow of the album, if one wants to listen to it all together and not track by track. While Sleepers in the Rift had it's calm parts, they appear more than often here and the heavy moments have gone to a more melodic and technical path, saying that in the most positive way as possible, even getting a bit psychedelic from time to time. The compositions are both droning and dissonant, pretty innovative and well written as a whole, throwing in surprises whenever possible.

I don't know there is a thing such as "post-death metal" (the ending of the album in "Terminus" sounds like the outro of any minimalistic post-rock band) but it is the closest I can think of about Morbus Chron and Sweven. They maintain a pretty dark atmosphere from the first minutes with introduction "Berceuse", also presenting their unusual playing style which evolves into magnificent tracks such as "Ripening Life", "Chains" and "The Perennial Link". The acoustic parts are haunting and burdensome and have a significant part to the album's outcome. When it get's more intense, it's equally mesmerizing. The production of the album is excellent, the instruments sound amazing as if you can actually hear them breathing, keeping the dynamic range as high as DR9, which is acceptable by all means.

Sweven goes through visionary melodies and sounds, it's entertaining and unique. The band members did a hell of a job with creating the layers of the album, while the vocalist Edvin Aftonfalk has a quite personal voice, somewhere between the shouting of Obliteration and some more shrieked screaming. There was not any traditional growling, the way the rest of the Swedish bands do, ensuring how Morbus Chron wishes to differ from that scene. In overall, this record has lot's of good moments to give to the listener. It's appropriate for brave supporters of weirder and "avant-garde" sounds, as I'm not sure if the old school maniacs will approve. It still kicks ass though.

DAMAGE: 8.75/10

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Aborted Fetus - Private Judgement Day (2014) Review

Album | Private Judgement Day
Country | Russia
Genre | Brutal Death Metal
Label | Comatose Music

I found out about Aborted Fetus from an old forum I once frequently visited in a random conversation about metal genres, back then I was into such bands mainly because of the titles and the artwork, more than the music itself. It is true that I prefer other Russian bands when it comes to brutal death metal, like Abominable Putridity and Katalepsy, but these guys also come to mind now and then. Therefore, I was looking forward to listening to this album, even though one knows what to expect from it, especially when one has heard a band's previous material.

As most of the bands alike, Aborted Fetus are all but slams, groovy riffs, blast beats and guttural vocals. Coming with a delicious and artistic cover, which represents the usual chaotic gore apocalypse we know, it's title and song titles are not extremely disgusting this time, compared to some of their past namings (if you can't stand these ones, don't go anywhere deeper into brutal death, really). Of course, there are "Fuck in the Pesthole" and "Malignant Pregnancy" which suggest of something, but the average title choices are ok. In fact, Private Judgement Day could be any band's album title. Even though most bands go as gross as possible, Aborted Fetus keep it close and stick to their brutal music.

Fans of the band and the genre are probably going to dig this hard, because of the same reasons they enjoy that style. Aborted Fetus know how to hammer tasty grooves in your face and it's heavy as it needs to be, at it's comfortable and cozy DR4 production, the most common outcome of the whole genre. For that, the production is pretty jammed but nobody would even care to notice. Private Judgement Day has a relatively riotous sound, without being the unbearable kind of noise necessarily, similar to their previous full length Goresoaked Clinical Accidents, and slightly worse than Fatal Dogmatic Damage.

Musically, the band is just pure brutal death metal. There are a couple of screaming / horror samples in various songs, as in the very beginning of the record with "Savage Dominance", and also in "Private Judgement Day", "Brown Totem" and "Morning Inferno". Such samples have always appealed to me a lot, sometimes more than the rest of the songs, and I expect to hear one or two in every record like that I get. The drums go quite fast and repetitively throw several combined hits, while the guitar work uses the absolute basic characteristics of the genre to build compositions. The vocal range includes guttural, growls and often pig squeels. Don't expect to understand the lyrics, if there are any.

Private Judgement Day contains twenty five minutes of what Aborted Fetus do best and it's not expanding anywhere further that, to be sincere. It would be an enjoyable listen and a really good album for die hard fans, or people who can keep up with just brutality in their music. I like my brutal death from time to time but I consider it somewhat inferior to actual straightforward death metal, so an average or even a considered good band won't move the earth at all over here. Still, it's a legit album as a whole, quite attractive to a certain kind of fans.

DAMAGE: 6.5/10

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Sun Worship - Elder Giants (2014) Review

Album | Elder Giants
Country | Germany
Genre | Atmospheric Black Metal
Label | View from the Coffin

This band's EP Surpass Eclipse hit a good ranking in my top 15 EPs for 2013, since it felt like a new and amazing discovery of mine into the atmospheric black metal scene. Naturally, I missed any warnings about the full record that was being prepared since then, which is also the debut of the band, and I must admit I listened to it with more excitement than normal. Getting into a band as they evolve is a great feeling and with Elder Giants, I think Sun Worship prove they have all that's needed to climb to the top.

It is a record that fits perfectly to the modern atmospheric black metal scene, because of it's abysmal song writing and discordant vocals. The songs last from six to thirteen minutes and they are not keen in compositional variety, as Sun Worship  play a thick and immense riff, enhancing it with the whole instrumentation for a couple of minutes, before getting into a different or vocal section. The few changes are perfect and the album's atmosphere is presented from the first minutes, thought provoking and effective as it is.

The tempo of the record is mostly kept at high rates, as the band expresses intense moments of black metal as a main characteristic of their music. If you take the fast paced and chaotic parts of Ash Borer, you can have a fairly good image of the first two songs on Elder Giants, which are "We Sleep" and "The Absolute Is Becoming". There are breathtaking and addictive guitar melodies in there, likeable in the same manner that I liked Surpass Eclipse, with the end of the latter slowing down a bit into a middle paced part, clearing the way for the self-titled masterpiece...

... Which is the third track of the album and it's by far the best here. It's the second longest and musically the fullest in Elder Giants, embodying wonderful riffs (like the one during the beginning of the fifth minute, which is simply grandiose), as well as a combination of middle paced and fast paced moments and an overall crushing epicness. A standout track for sure and one of the highlights of the year so far to me, having a strong impact in the first place. Towards the end, it closes with an electronic buzz that concludes to the last track "Transneptunian (Infinite Gaze)".

At first, I did not think positively of this ending track. It's mainly electronic and steps into noise / dark ambient, which got me thinking that I would prefer another straightforward track like the other three at first. Yet, after a couple of listens it turned out that it is in fact brilliantly placed, brings the listener back from their celestial journey and includes some minimalistic and nice tones, close to Burzum's Tomhet. It's not just another boring outro that everyone skips when listening to albums like this.

These and the notable artwork by View From The Coffin make up an legit album worth listening to. Even though it's close to the so called hipster black metal scene, it lacks any useless post-rock elements and calm moments, it has more character and definitely more guts. I wouldn't expect anything less from a German band, as the country has a good history on black metal, therefore you have nothing to be afraid of before listening to this.

DAMAGE: 9.25/10

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Töxik Death - Speed Metal Hell (2014) Review

Album | Speed Metal Hell
Country | Norway
Genre | Black / Thrash Metal
Label | Demonhood Productions

| Sergeant of the wasteland |

As much as I like present-day thrash metal, a dose of the relentless, old school touch is always fine to listen to, especially from new and crazy bands that are formed solely for that reason. From the land of Deathhammer, comes this band named Töxik Death, which lets the album's title and art to speak for itself: Speed Metal Hell  is an anti-poser black / thrash statement that will keep the die hard fans busy for some time, in case they discover it.

The band has released a split with three other bands (Deathhammer, Nekromantheon and Carniwhöre) named Nekrothrash and that's exactly what these guys play. The fast-paced tempo of Motorhead, fused with the aggressiveness of Venom and an addition of the fruits of black / thrash all these years, the mix of Töxik Death is familiar and never getting old, especially when it's done by enthusiasts like them.

All the tracks are catchy riff after catchy riff, torn vocals and fast drums, a couple of solos an underground extreme metal atmosphere. Yet another album for freaks with Speed Metal emblem tattoos and patches, it will not disappoint and it has plenty of enjoyable music during it's half hour of length and total of nine tracks. Of course, the roots of the genre are what dominates the album, all punk / rock n roll / thrash / black are partying alike.

Speed Metal Hell does not introduce the listener to anything new and that's the point of the record in the first place, worshipping it's style to the last bit. From what you might have understood, fans of Witchburner, Aura Noir and the above bands will also love this one. Made by fanatics, for the fanatics.

DAMAGE: 8/10

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Woods of Desolation - As the Stars (2014) Review

Album | As the Stars
Country | Australia
Genre | Atmospheric / Post-Black Metal
Label | Northern Silence Productions

| Anamnesis of fallen stars |

I always thought of Woods of Desolation as a top depressive black metal act, ever since I found them with their obscure split with Drohtnung in 2008. They have been playind DSBM in the debut full length Toward the Depths and in the Sorh EP, which might not have been the best the genre has seen, but still it was pretty decent to my eyes.

They changed into something more atmospheric and released the phenomenal Torn Beyond Reason, which had an incredible impact on me. Now, the band makes progresses a little bit more and releases the legit As The Stars, in the vein of the modern atmospheric / post-black metal scene.

While the main member of the act is D., there have been guest musicians helping with the writing and recording sessions. So it was done here and there is Old of Drohtnung contributing with his vocals, Vlad from Drudkh in the drum post and the bass player Luke Mills, who also plays in Nazxul and Pestilential Shadows. Unlike other bands, this record was written by all the guys together and it was not strict compositions given out by D. only to be reproduced by the rest of the musicians. Every man has offered his part in it's completion.

Woods of Desolation had never tried recording lot's of average length songs before, as there are seven four to six minute tracks here and that's somehow unusual, especially compared to the long hymns of Torn Beyond Reason. They have become more accessible that way, as each track is reduced to a simplistic verse of parts and a couple of changes, if there are any. As The Stars lasts thirty four minutes.

Musically, it resides in post-rock melodies, dreamy riffs and mellow atmospheric black metal. As they are located far away from the Cascades, they are not completely following the lines but it's basically what one would expect from such bands after discovering Alcest. In fact, you can hear that band in the introduction of "Unfold" or "And If All The Stars Faded Away", As The Stars feels like a b side of a post-black era Alcest record.

Old sings with passion and despair at the same time, with his voice reaching it's highest peak in tracks like "This Autumn Light" and "Withering Field". His vocals are distant and eerie, wonderfully melding with the rest of the instruments. The drumming is rather simplistic and not given more attention than needed at any moment, so I guess it would go unnoticed in the album, apart from sparse moments.

As The Stars often changes mood during it's set. While the album opens with a fast (and the most intense it would ever go) riff followed by the harsh vocals in "Like Falling Leaves", it ends with a rather happy post-rock track like "Ad Infinitum". Even though I could not find any memorable moments, it's really enjoyable listening to as a whole. After this, I still think Torn Beyond Reason is the best they've ever made, while enjoying the new one enough for now.

DAMAGE: 7.5/10

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