EP Review: Enormicon - Storm Of Swords

Any band sporting a moniker like Enormicon, will always lead you to expect a pretty heavy sound to emerge when you hit play. Similar expectations will abound when the title of the first track of any album has such a devil-horning linguistic concoction like "Slaghammer". So when they feature in unison your hopes are for something pretty earth-shattering to emerge from your cans. So it is that I am disappointedly reporting the news that this isn't your day for wish fulfilment... yet. That "yet" is all important because behind the undoubtedly weak recording lies the potential for something monstrous to follow.

Tracks like the aforementioned "Slaghammer" and "Dark Forces" burn and boil, dragging forth insane lyrics, like only a band who smoke the strongest stuff can. The rhythmic qualities recall The Sword and the meaty tones and psycho lyrics are High On Fire-esque. "Pray For Death" and "The Gargantuan" reach down into a whole other dimension until the echoing stop-gaps enlarge and the psychedelia becomes more intense. There are elements of Mastodon and Hawkwind down here amongst the whispering fools, bending riffs and twisting, panic-stricken harmonies. The absurdly-titled "Fury Shall Know The Warmth Of Your Blood (Summoning The Enormicon)" with its dizzy-headed bludgeoning is, by comparison, absolutely ludicrous but it does prove just how far down the rabbit-hole Enormicon are willing to venture.

Now, I've tried but there's just no getting away from this. This EP contains the kind of snare sound that ruins a record. There you are listening to this rich, complex, driving and mind-expanding music and feeling it invade your every pore. Now imagine having your blissful, semi-lucid state exploded by the sounds of your beloved three-year old banging the shit out of the plastic toy kit you got him for Christmas. You'd throttle him, right? No, you'd buy him a full-on, ear-splitting tub-thumper because if he's anything like the kid on this EP, he's one talented son of a bitch ("Merciless Overlord Of Rhythm", indeed). The problem almost definitely lies with those weak-assed recording mics, that potting shed of a studio they've recorded in or, most likely, the individual twiddling the knobs whose idea of a hard-hitting drum tone is on a whole other planet to mine.

These thunderous Texans are just setting out, so it's hugely unfair to criticise too heavily. What they bring to the table is innovation, an instant grasp of complex song construction and a crafty knack for making their loony tunes accessible. This half-hour EP is a well-place stepping stone to, potentially, something really special.

Also online @ Metal Team UK = http://www.metalteamuk.net/oct11reviews/cdreviews-enormicon.htm

EP Review: Ruins Of Earth - Misguided Lifeforms

Bravely attempting to combine moody melodeath with a dash of thrash and a hoard of hardcore, Ruins Of Earth bring us a whole world of pain. Hot on the heels of their first EP, 'Ashes Of The Ocean', this second collection offers plenty more ideas and asks a lot of intriguing questions.

They've recorded this bad boy themselves so it's no surprise to find that the production sounds a little odd. It's as if your next-door neighbour is trying to burst through your bedroom wall. He's trashing his kit whilst his gorilla has smashed a head-shaped hole, through which he delivers these filthy grunts. Cleanest of all is the scarred larynx of the second vocalist who hovers over you, yelling these brain-scrambling wails right in your earhole. Yes, odd, but interestingly powerful.

'Funeral' emerges from an electro-industrial squall to thrust forth a punchy, bass-packed groove. It screams and thunders its way through a thrashy, dipping spot of jagged deathcore and even throws in a shambolic gang-chant to try and hook you. The dark themes continue through the instrumental 'The Wait' which locks onto a swaying, two-chord hook and doesn't shift. It's missing something and I'd have loved them to expand on the thought rather than just cutting it off in its prime with the sound of rain on a tin roof.

'Becoming Inhuman' has a nifty, crawling riff underpinning it and plenty of Carnifex-cum-Sylosis battery layered over the top. It's by far the most effective track, grabbing on hard and pulling you backwards through falling masonry. There's even a spot of symphonic metal backing and a dark piano outro - the kind of elements that have recently surfaced with bands like Hope For The Dying and The Human Abstract. Now, comparisons like that show just how far Ruins Of Earth have to go to make the grade.

If only that mix, was cleaner and crisper, the switch between brutality and melody would be ten times more effective and they'd have a real slice of shock and awe to wave in the faces of their peers. It's being offered as a free download here so there's no excuse not to be checking it out - just don't pin all your hopes on finding those answers.

Also online @ MTUK = http://www.metalteamuk.net/june11reviews/cdreviews-ruinsof.htm

EP Review: I, Inside - Mental Exhibition

Sucking lazily upon the fumes of Metallica, this Belgian quartet plunder their heroes thrash and groove, disappointingly turning it into bit of a chore. Behind a wall of volume, there seems to be very little variation to the tracks, one wandering aimlessly into another. There is a distinct lack of bite and there aren't exactly any hooks to cling onto to. A lot of it is just two-chord faffing around. All sounds pretty damning but there is an occasional flash of inspiration. The artwork is pretty neat, for one. Also, the bass blast that steps in around the 1:45 mark of 'Verdrängtes Trauma' is pretty worthy, and the vocal occasionally finds an impressive guttural edge for 'Moral Midgetry' - yes, I'm really grasping at straws here. The trouble is you simply have to concentrate too hard on blocking out the biggest weakness that this EP exudes - the production.

All hail their attempts for, presumably, digging this out without assistance, but it just hasn't paid off. The dull, lifeless thud of the solitary cowbell lurking inside 'Liquid Recollection' pretty much sums up the kind of contrast between hissing top-end and thick, sludgy bottom-end - I see big black boots and a bobble-head but where's the body? The drums are particularly paper-thin, sounding ridiculously clipped next to the incessant grunt that the guitar chugs offer. Throw on a vocal that sits about thirty feet back from everything else and you've just got this grotty mess that is never going to showcase the band's nascent talent for digging out a groove.

This opaque mess continues right through until 'Turbid Shape' opens out and starts revealing slow, delicately plucked open chords. The undulating nature of it is a bit of a revelation, as it proves the band are prepared to blossom out into more than just one-dimensional grunt. Vocalist Kris' last verse is delivered with real menace behind a flux of dark, minor chords - "He has no face / he has no shadow".

I guess, sometimes what's on the cover just doesn't match the innards. No matter how much I try and constructively criticise this beast, it's always going to end up sounding pretty ugly. I honestly believe 'Mental Exhibition' isn't a great example of what this band are actually capable of. They need to put this behind them and come at us again with a more solid, fine-tuned attack.

Also online @ MTUK = http://www.metalteamuk.net/june11reviews/cdreviews-iinside.htm

Free Download: Magrudergrind - Crusher EP

Accused of channeling bands like Napalm Death, Terrorizer and Carcass, the crushing grindcore of Magrudergrind has been lighting up grotty venues and blowing bedroom sub-woofers for quite a few years now. Recently released and, inevitably made freely available, this latest EP provides the perfect opportunity to give your favourite headbanger an early Christmas present.

Go visit Brooklyn Vegan to get the free download: http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2010/11/a_free_magruder.html

Then go to one of their mental gigs and thank them kindly: http://www.myspace.com/magrudergrind

You could even read this awesome interview printed in Issue #6 of Crucial Zine which you can also download for free: http://crucialzine.blogspot.com/

EP Review: Burn The Iris - Sovereign

One letter shy of being horribly accused of being Emerald Isle-bashing pyromaniacs, the crazily named Burn The Iris hail from the nether regions of the Netherlands and seem at pains to claim they draw great inspiration from their progressive metal neighbours, Germany's The Ocean and Sweden's Burst. Having recorded a promo back in 2007, it's certainly taken them a fair old while to construct three tracks worthy of release - possibly a sign of either a lethargic demeanour or an absolute dedication to producing nothing but quality.

Moving through the tracks, 'Holding Time' pounds along at a fearsome rate, firing out damaged licks and globs of roared, echoic hate until it reaches a gut-churning breakdown that sinks itself into a grim mire where it meets a sticky end. Changing tack, 'Old Son' is a sand-shifting storm of Isis-inspired battery and ubiquitously contrary acoustic guitar and guest vocal, courtesy of Tamara Clijsen. The real find here though is the 10-minute ‘(Sovereign) Ghost’ which straddles an incessantly subversive, richly macabre vein that punches above its weight, inhabiting a groove that will inevitably inspire windmills and headbanging alike. It's possibly a little too choppy to really cling onto the coat-tails of Opeth, and infinitely more opaque than their named influences.

It's probably the deep, echoic vocal and lamentable repetition of minor keys that mark out the distinct streak of black metal running down BTI's spine, but it's a strong feature that bears noting for all future releases. 'Sovereign' is a fine glimpse of the capabilities of an upcoming band but, if they continue to release at a rate of one track a year, I don't recommend holding your breath for a debut album anytime soon.

Also online @ MTUK = http://www.metalteamuk.net/nov10reviews/cdreviews-bti.htm

EP Stream = http://soundcloud.com/burntheiris/sets/sovereign

EP Review: 65daysofstatic - Heavy Sky

Emerging from the debris of the recording sessions for latest album We Were Exploding Anyway, comes this craftily-compiled EP featuring six brand new tracks (and one new edit), because surely nothing is too good to throw away. The band obviously feel strongly enough about how special these songs are, as they’ve compiled limited edition artwork for the release and are offering two tracks (unavailable elsewhere) to folks who place a pre-order. Another sign of how serious they are about the content comes with the announcement that they’re about to take it out on tour. So it must be all killer and no filler, right?

Well, kicking off with a bit of a duff extra we find that ‘Tiger Girl’, having been cut down from an admittedly lengthy 10:37 to a mean 3:36, has its emotional peaking effect blunted somewhat. Allowing yourself to dwell and soak up the rhythm is often far superior to the short, sharp hit. A bad start then but, thankfully, the remainder of the EP is jam-packed with crackers.

‘The Wrong Shape’ ebbs and flows dynamically and, as such, is somewhat reminiscent to ‘Crash Tactics’. Comparison between the two actually results in this new release sounding just that bit stronger. ‘Pacify’ crawls into view, sounding much like the bone-chilling opening to Baroness’ ‘Rays On Pinion’, like a hundred fingers running their way round a hundred glasses, whilst ‘PX3′ expounds further on that progressive element pulling in a wholesome heartbeat bass to help out the manic piano. ‘Beats Like A Helix’ grabs great fistfuls of computer-generated beeps and throws drum and bass at it, whilst ‘Guitar Cascades’ is a collapsing, submerged, massively cathartic wall of noise. The real find here, though, is ‘Sawtooth Rising’ which is exactly the one missing element from 65DOS’ exploration of dance music that so inspired ‘WWEA’. It’s colourful, rich, buoyantly building, exceptionally brutish and fused with the classic buzzing signature of mind-melting euphoric trance.

So instead of finding six that didn’t deserve to make the cut, ‘Heavy Sky’ marks the brilliant completion of a stunning and, clearly, devotional body of work.

Also online @ TLOBF = http://www.thelineofbestfit.com/2010/11/65daysofstatic-heavy-sky/

Mini-Album Review: LITE – Illuminate

...Having recorded Illuminate over two sessions, first in Chicago, then in Baltimore, the band have clearly spent a lot of time and money ironing out any frailties to get the record sounding bolder, more precise and ultimately, far more diverse. They’ve achieved this by bringing in a suitcase full of synth and a host of damaged keys. The rainfall backing tape and industrial click tracks on opener ‘Drops’ perfectly sets up their sudden shift into danceable electronica mirroring 65daysofstatic’s own side-step away from post-rock speculatling. The consequential added layers that they’ve discovered, within the manic electro-pop of ‘Image Game’ or the psychedelic jazz funk of ‘Andromeda’, is nothing short of staggering. Jun Izawa’s bass still rips through it all but it’s now pinpoint, clipped and precise and the best example of this is, without doubt, ’100 Million Rainbows’ – hearing it rise up on it’s haunches to plant bruising bottom-end and curious time-signatures over looped phasers is the equivalent of hearing Depeche Mode and Made Out Of Babies gang-rape Jean-Michelle Jarre’s entire back catalogue...

Full review = http://www.thelineofbestfit.com/2010/08/lite-illuminate/

EP Review: Boris & Ian Astbury – BXI

Seeing Ian Astbury perform with The Cult at the Sonisphere Festival, just a couple of weeks ago, hit home just how well-loved his distinctive vocal was, nay, still, is. Thousands of fists hit the sky that day just as thousands of voices that accompanied every lyric did. Over the years we’ve seen him pop up on various projects and impromptu collaborations, like The Doors reformation, MC5, Tony Iommi, Deborah Harry and Slash, but to hear that he’d teamed up with Japanese experimental drone and doom specialists Boris was definitely a bit of a shock. It’s wholly new territory for him but the potential clash of styles had me, and clearly plenty of other Sonisphere attendees, salivating.

The project, tentatively titled, BXI (one assumes that stands for Boris multiplied by Ian), however, refuses to see each artist meet in the middle. It’s amazing quite how much influence Ian Astbury has had on Boris; enough to make them adapt around him by employing 4-4 drumbeats and strummed guitars. Astbury on the other hand slaps his mark hard on the project, throwing his dying, elongated lilt to each word, leaving a steaming red welt across the majority of tracks...

Full review = http://www.thelineofbestfit.com/2010/08/boris-ian-astbury-bxi/

Split EP Review: Fading Waves/Starchitect

Ukraine teams up with Russia for this 12-track split EP as a duo of dark sentimentalists, Starchitect from Kherson, take on a one-man band, Fading Waves from Rostov-On-Don. Surprisingly, there's actually more material here than you'll find on most albums, but then most post-rockers like nothing better than a damn good wheedle.

Fading Waves main provocateur Lex Maximuk is used to playing, programming, singing, engineering and mixing virtually every note you hear, but here he has brought in vocalist Alexey Morgunov and guitarist Artem Bat'kov to help him paint a torrid picture of modern living. Very much inspired by the bleak novels and poetry of Charles Bukowski, as well as the city he lives in, he goes to great lengths on 'Megapolis Depression' to pick wickedly bruised minor notes and repetitive loops to cast the gloom, following it up with an oppressive vocal scouring for 'Lights On Water'...

Full review = http://www.metalteamuk.net/july10reviews/cdreviews-fw.htm

Album Review: Saviours – Into Abaddon

Saviours from Oakland, California come with a ‘U’ and a surprising mixture of influences ranging from NWOBHM to stoner rock. Think Iron Maiden jamming with High On Fire with Lemmy wailing from within an echo chamber.

‘Into Abaddon’ is their second long-player and despite its concise playing time this isn’t one you should pass on. They’ve managed to recreate an album that utterly envelopes you in the music by hiring a producer, Joe Barresi, who’s worked with such bands as Kyuss, Tool and Bad Religion. Scott Baptiste, the drummer and principal songwriter, cannot speak highly enough of his abilities. “Joe blew our minds every day. He’s a tone master and really gets into the bands he works with to the point where he almost served as a new member in the studio. Our last few records captured what we sounded like live at the times in which they were made, but Joe was able to conceptualize that sound and make it even more powerful”. With echoing vocals, thickly distorted driving bass, deeply throbbing guitars which interweave in collapsing shifts and bad-ass, pounding drum rhythms, Saviours drag you helplessly into their dark, menacing cave and beat upon you soundly until you finally admit defeat.

At just over three minutes the curt title track nods politely in the direction of Iron Maiden’s thundering ‘Run To The Hills’ rhythm. To the sound of horses galloping into battle, guitarist/vocalist Austin Barber lets loose a vitriolic series of war cries. In combination with the warping ferocity of the booming and cascading guitars it’s a heady mix. It’s followed by ‘Narcotic Sea’ which mixes an abrasive, monotone and almost shouted, vocal with a series of psychedelic rising and falling guitar patterns. Suddenly we’re aboard a tiny boat on a vast ocean of sound and our heads are firmly held over the side, our stomachs churning as the wailing feedback rushes at us before slowly ebbing into silence. The remainder of the album is a concoction of this raw driving power (such as on ‘Raging Embers’ or ‘Cavern Of Mind’) and this insanely brilliant conceptual revelry (‘Mystichasm’ or ‘Firewake Angel’). Aptly named, this band can truly save you.

EP Review: The Leaves - The Sunshine

The Leaves, based in London and the South East, play gentle blues-tinged melodic rock music. Lead singer, Dannieuelle, has an assured vocal that sweeps effortlessly through the songs. Guitarist Aidan’s subtle acoustic melodies and drummer Dan’s understated, steady rhythms provide the backing to four tracks that show off their songwriting abilities.

The star of the show is clearly Danniuelle’s vocal which combines Dusty Springfield’s soft delivery with the lilting, more dramatic style of Chrissie Hynde’s. ‘First And Last’ is probably the best track here with a rhythm guitar setting the pace which the vocal lifts before pitching elegantly into the chorus hook. With songs that are so simply structured there aren’t any surprises or pitfalls - its music without gimmicks. Yes, I suppose it is rather formulaic, but then it’s perfect music for a lazy sunny afternoon and there’s always room for more of that, right?

www.myspace.com/theleaves4u

Also online @ Music-Zine = http://www.music-zine.com/reviews/?id=494