Thursday, February 13, 2014

Signs Preyer -"Signs Preyer"






  Too often music gets talked about as being dated when really what has changed is the writer's taste as they've grown older although some releases of yesteryear don't stand up in the present but there's bound to be someone out there that enjoys the retro feel and doesn't care that much for what's presently happening in music.  It's not just your parents, man.  It really
could happen to anyone

Italian band Signs Preyer have a sound that is set steadfastly in the nineties. The band's first track "Anger" is very Alice In Chains influenced despite starting out at a pace similar to nineties era Pantera.

There's a stoner rock vibe meets Load era Metallica to "Killer Instinct", which is understandable as Signs Preyer admit to a Corrosion of Conformity influence and 90's Metallica was definitely heavily influenced by C.O.C.   A lot of quick riffing is the highlight of "Painless Pain" which has some quick near rap which doesn't detract from the song at all.  The spoken part at the end is a moment Phil Anselmo would be proud of.

 "Dark Soul" contains a laid back vibe that would have fit on my local rock radio station when Creed, Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains were on heavy rotation.  Alice In Chains were never really a grunge band and Signs Preyer channel all that was good about that band in  "Hell".   Signs Preyers weren't content to only have a self-titled album but decided a self-titled song was a necessity and it's an ode to rock 'n' roll with the vocalist sounding somewhere between Bon Scott, Layne Stayley and James Hetfield.

This album may be a mixed bag for many but it's definitely worth checking out if you were a fan of both grunge and metal during the nineties.  It'll be interesting to see which direction Signs Preyer choose to go in the future.

3/5

Signs Preyer on facebook


Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Suffer The Wrath - Divine Sign




   As the TV commmercials often tell us, there's nothing quite like a refreshing beverage after a hard day's work and often after listening to a lot of Scandinavian metal hearing bands from countries where English is spoken as the main language can be a refreshing change.  Suffer the Wrath are a death metal band from Illinois who list a bunch of pronounceable pseudonyms on their band bio.

The drumming is fast with furious blast-beats.  The vocals fall somewhere between the breathless Scooby Doo rasps and Cookie Monster grunts with occasional growls.

If you get the feeling you've read this review before its because there isn't really anything that separates Suffer The Wrath from the herds.  Thankfully this EP is only 4 songs long.  Now where's that Goatwhore CD?

2.5/5

Suffer the Wrath's bandcamp


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Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Shrapnel Storm - We Come in Peace




Shrapnel Storm are a five piece Finnish death metal band who have been brutally knocking around about since 2007.  The band aren't into chaotic speed for speed's sake as Shrapnel Storm are strongly influenced by 90's mid-tempo death metal acts.




There are only two tracks here so this is short and sweet death metal.  While sweet death metal may well be an oxymoron, Shrapnel Storm is a band that favours the organic sound made by rotten humans over computerized perfection.  There aren't any auto-tuned guitars or drum click tracks to be found here and as such the music falls somewhere between  a lot of 80's thrash metal and Carcass's Heartwork.  The vocals are clear audible death grunt   If you didn't realize that's two thumbs up here.  They also get another thumb up for having their own website that is more than just links to their social media sites.  Good stuff from Finland once again.

 If any record labels are out there reading this, these guys are currently shopping around for a record label.

3/5




Shrapnel Storm's website



Shrapnel Storm on facebook



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Monday, February 10, 2014

Amok - Somewhere In Time



  Many of the UK thrash metal bands back in the 80's never managed to get into the first or second tier.  Xentrix and Slammer are possibly the only thrashers from that period of time and corner of the world that ever managed to leave an impression but it was never as large as their German and American cousins.

  Decades later Evile have fought their way into the first tier of retro-thrash but there's a Scottish band called Amok following hot on their heels.  These guys don't sound the average pub metal band who have plugged away for years playing the requisite Metallica/Megadeth and Slayer due to the melodic vocals of Stephen Matulevicze   being close to Joey Belladonna which lends Amok that sound Anthrax achieved when they were on the top of their game.  There are a few moments here and there were he sounds like late 80's Chuck Billy as some of the echo effects could have come from "Practice What You Preach" .  This is a thrash metal frontman isn't scared to prove that he has singing ability.  When was the last time you heard an Anthrax cover in your favorite music dive bar?  Yeah, I can't remember either.  Deciphering the lyrics isn't difficult due to the vocals and the fact that they come through crisp and clearly.

The music backing up the vocals is largely reminiscent of Anthrax too.  The riffing is crunchy and technical and backed with strong speedy drumming. Despite the speed, it never sound like the individual musicians are competing in a race to the finish line.   It's not all full-on thrash either as some of the guitar sounds are clearly from the Maiden songbook but throughout "Somewhere in the West", it's Joey Belladonna period Anthrax that come to mind.  "Lawbreakers" has an undeniable New York sound as there's a tinge of New York hardcore bands like Gorilla Biscuits in the guitar sound and rhythm section.   Some may write Amok off as a clone band but in an age of  Cookie Monster soundalike bands putting brutality ahead of writing music , Amok's easily accessible Anthrax sound is both very welcome and highly enjoyable.  Wherever you are on the globe, it's time to listen to Amok run so make time to kill time and click their bandcamp link to listen this album.

3.5/5

Amok's bandcamp



Amok on facebook




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Beastwars - IV

After over a year off for various reasons, we have returned solely because we wanted to review the new Beastwars album. I really w...