Dripping Slits - "Krokodil Rock"

Sometimes, at any given review outlet, an album makes it way to the top of the pile simply because of what the reviewer has heard of their previous output.  Dripping Slits have previously been reviewed here earlier this year when they shared a split and we loved them then as you can see here..

This latest release "Krokodil Rock" also spat on all the thrash, death and black metal, promptly stole the bottles of corpse paint mixed them with ethanol then  raided the liquor and medicine cabinets and apologized with a wink and only a hint of a winning smile.  That particular kind of charm is a rare commodity in this day and age so it wins every time here.  Dripping Slits' music is dirty sleazy rock 'n' roll played the way it should be.  It's noisy, dirty and raw.  The fact that the band have a song entitled "Venom and Denim" may give the impression that they fall somewhere between the originators of black metal and Scandanavian punk 'n' roll but lyrics like "A wise man once said, " Rock and Roll is dead but he ain't seen what I seen" lets you know these guys pump sleazy rock through their arteries and no doubt contain in other vessels that may contain body fluids even if they usually just hold alcoholic beverages.

These cats know that blues aren't just for washing clothes as there are a few moments that the scuzz is from a southern swamp.  The final song, " Snake Oil Blues" sounds like a cross between Motley Crüe 's debut combined with Alice Cooper's best moments meeting head-on with Black Flag and then grabbing a little something off a stoner rock band.  The album "Krokodil Rock" is streamed on the band's site which is linked below.  So you really should click the link.



4/5



http://drippingslits.com/

One God or an Other "Towers of Silence"

Seattle black metal band, A God or an Other describe their music as A God or an Other describe their music as using a vast array of influences and creating a range of sounds from lush ethereal soundscapes to crushing walls of sounds.  

    The band sound reminiscent of Ludicra and Agalloch at times due to the black metal vocals.  The post-metal element is that the band are largely instrumental and favour lengthy songs and titles.  One song is entitled, "Not an Eye Was Left Open to Weep for the Dead"  The songs themselves suffer the same fate as a few of the titles as they all tend to be overlong.  There's something here for those that like long quasi-instrumental songs but anyone with a punk rock attention span should avoid at all costs.

3/5

Don't take our word for it! Check out their bandcamp site.
 

Symbolic "Scarvest"

It seems everywhere you look these days there's another death metal band collectively sticking up their rotten heads and shouting, "Hey, we're different because we're more brutal than those other weakass bands".  The claims of brutality are as cliched as building a career on a number that appeared in the book of revelations as the number of the beast.   It's a proven scientific fact that bands of any genre who forge their own path either become one of the biggest entities ever or wallow in obscurity.  While those that caught up in imitation often get forgotten once the herd mentality shifts and some inevitably change their sound to pander to the masses.


German metallers Symbolic don't have a death metal name unless you consider the likes of Cynic to be a death metal name.  Neither moniker lets you immediately know that the band favour the stench of death unlike names such as Grave, Cannibal Corpse etc which leave little doubt about the band's genere.  Symbolic contain the requisite death metal grunter even if at times his higher register is closer to many black metal bands.  The guitars come from the more traditional angle and at times it's clear that symphonic metal fans who could handle a change would lap this band's sound up.


 "MySery"  provides another surprise in that it's a quiet instrumental moment with some classical guitar picking and the song conveys a melancholic mood despite or maybe because of its lullaby quality.  The twin guitar dueling contained in "Bittersweet" may prove aptly titled for death metal purists as the guitars sounds are clean and at times there's a blackened tone within the vocals.  It may well prove to be an aptly titled song for many but it's definitely an interesting song nonetheless.  Where the band provides another element of surprise is in the drumming as it shifts from blast-beats to a more standard tempo and them back again.  "Down To Zero" employs a more traditional  rthym and is a major head-nodder due to this fact although some tasty riffing adds to the song . There are grunted vocals combined with a black metal hobgoblin half-shriek.  The grunted vocals alone would have worked better but the other style doesn't weaken the song any.


Symbolic are to be admired for their innovation within a genre not often known for musical risk-taking.  The band are often unpredictable without falling directly under the progressive death metal umbrella.  In many other places where this album has been reviewed, the band are referred to as melodic death metal but the vocals aren't of the clean melodic ilk but the guitar sound comes through much clearer than the more generic death metal bands.   This re-release of "Scarvest" is well worth looking into.  Apparently this is Symbolic's second album and was originally released in 2011.

3.5/5

Symbolic's band site



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Pitch Black Mentality - The Pitch Black Reality

There are rules that music reviewers should follow in order to be credible.

1) Don't talk about your day.  No one cares. Everybody else has theirs which is more important to them than yours.

2) Don't pick a band or artist as a regular whipping boy.  If you choose Nickelback or Justin Bieber what separates you from the other clones?

3) Ignore the opinions of others.  This applies to writing reviews and reading others before setting out on yours.

4) Write about the music and try not to make "I" statements.  It's the music that is important not you.

As rules were made to be broken it's time to break rule 3 and 4 because I read a few reviews of this album before listening to it and the thrash metal lable confused me as soon as I heard the first song "Carpe Demon".  The opening riffs and the vocalist's voice are "Vulgar Display of Power" Pantera and the speed isn't really there for the most part.  The albums title songs follows this track and opens as a speedier thrasher but there's no way that the speed by Pitch Black Mentality can be maintained for over six minutes.  The vocals fall somewhere between Steve Souza and Joey Belladonna but lacking the power of the former and the melody of the latter.  

The promised thrash seems to come via "Tool of War" which promises a "Battery" type thrashing however it's closer to the power metal Helloween were churning out at their peak in the eighties.   In "Red Light" the band succeed in thrashing in three minutes in a half and there's an undeniable Bay Area influence.  "Silent Voice" is more of the same except this song is so much better.   It's a thrasher and there are no attempts at singing although there is a semi-spoken part.  Drums are pummeled at a rapid pace at the outset of "Truth Denied" then melodic power metal vocals come into play now and again.   This would be a great song but this band keep wanting to surprise the listener and  enjoy shooting themselves in the foot. 

Most of the songs on this album are too long and they're not even up to the length of many early of "Death Magnetic" Metallica tunes.  Pitch Black Reality aren't a thrash metal band but a band with elements of thrash and power metal.  The sum of testicles in a vice screams and melodic parts never really fit that well into thrash metal in the 1980's and even though the musical landscape has changed, jigsaw puzzles haven't.

 It's clear that this band are searching for direction.  My advice is to lose the high pitched screams and ditch both the Micheal Kiske and Phil Anselmo attempts and embrace thrash metal in its purist form. 

2/5.  

Pitch Black Mentality on facebook.

Dark Season - Cruel Domination

Milk and cereal.  Bacon and eggs.  Steak and potatoes. Hammer and nail  Some things just belong together because someone long since forgotten worked out that the combinations work.  Italian band Dark Season combine thrash, death. electronic music and add more than a pinch of goth to the mix.


The vocals border on death metal but they're much clearer than the average death metal band's vocals.  The band don't quite fit into the retro-thrash movement either due to their electronic and gothic leanings.  Interceptor throws the listener for a loop with electronic soloing but despite  this Dark Season don't venture far from quick-paced head-banging metal which is driven by the strength of their rythm section.  Thrash metal fans of all generations will sink their teeth into the speed of "Groom Lake".  Electronic sounds work in this band's favour as they sound like a product of this period of time rather than a throwback to the peak of eighties thrash metal.  "Final War" starts with a slowly spoken part over music that recalls Slayer and the vocalist even barks a little like Tom Araya before Dark Season start thrashing it out.  The drumbeats become more standard but it's a backbone that works and some of the soloing reaches out and grabs a listener's attention.  The same could be said for "Channel 666" where the electronic sounds seem to be dueling with the guitar.


An industrial chug leads "Fight the Day" which brings both Rammstein and The Sisters of Mercy to mind.   The lyrics here and throughout the album are all in English and the vocals are often of the clean variety.  The title track is frantic thrash but  gothic undertones are far from buried under the solos and half-grunted shouts.  The electronic ending is one that many metal fans will find dubious and maybe more than a little disappointing given the song's earlier strengths.


It's difficult not to admire this band for simply sticking up their middle finger to most of the current trends in metal.  The music is still what matters and for the most part, Dark Season have made an album that is both interesting musically and an overall enjoyable listen.

3.5/5

Dark Season on Facebook

Dot Dash "Half-Remembered Dream"

((the beautiful music)

All music fans have some genre which they consider to be a dirty word.  For some, it's metal or pop music and others often get more specific with sub-genre dislikes.  If you're silly enough to consider power pop a genre that should be passed by then you might want to skip this band and review.


A year's not quite passed by and Dot Dash's follow-up to "Winter Garden Light" is here.  Most people would expect a band to have an identifiable sound by their third album and Dot Dash definitely have stamped their own sound identity.    There's no denying that they're still a US band who sound like a UK band due to their influences and Dot Dash's core sound remains power pop.


On the band's previous outing one song sounded like  Echo and The Bunnymen vocally but it is much more difficult to pick vocal comparisons this time around.  Terry Banks' singing will be recognizable as his own to people who have heard Dot Dash's previous release.   Comparisons to The Smiths will doubtlessly be made by many who hear this album due to the guitar playing and even that band's often overlooked rythm section.


"The Hands of Time" is a laid back catchy number that combines Johnny Marr guitar with a tune with an opening melody, which a young Paul McCartney would be proud of .      "The Sound in Shells" recalls The Dream Academy's best known moment although the guitars resonate much louder through Dot Dash's tune.    The previous album had a fast punk style song in "The Past is Another Country" and this album's equivalent is the Buzzcocks fashioned quick burner.   It's not all UK as  "Do Re Mi"  nods to Australia as it's one of those perfect pop songs that The Go-Betweens were writing during the 80's.

The theme of time slipping away runs throughout the lyrics and that brings the main complaint of the album.  "Half-Remembered Dream" just passes by too quickly.

4.5/5

The entire album can be heard on Dot Dash's bandcamp site.

Dot Dash on Facebook



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Cvinger "Monastery of the Fallen"

Here's a black metal band from  Slovenia called Cvinger.  As English is not their native language it's difficult to tell if the band want to use the v in their name as a u as in kvlt.  There's definitely nothing commercial about Cvinger's music and it is highly likely they will have a cult following but both of these are simply due to the nature of their music.


A creepy atmosphere is created at the fore of the album on the track "Chapter 1 - Into The Depths of Arcane Sanctuary"  but the music  on "Monastery of The Fallen" is largely generic black metal although the vocals are slightly clearer than most of the genre but the guitars sound like angry bumblebees and there are choral parts that would make the Mormon Tabernacle Choir proud.    Simply having a song entitled "Blaspherion" makes it apparent that Cvinger's blasphemy is an important ingredient in this band's  black metal.  Chants end "Among The Crucified"  and proceedings are kicked off with what sounds like a church choir.   It's nigh impossible not to wonder if a group of monks were brought in to chant on "Chapter 3: Amen" because the song does sound like it was recorded at a monastery.


Applause is deserved for the Cvinger's willingness to experiment with quieter moments however at the end of the dark night, however there's almost nothing other than location that separates Cvinger from the rest of the face painted corpse.  "Monastery of The Fallen" will still appeal to fans of generic black metal who need to be as corpse-rotting cult as humanly possible.

2/5

The album is available on CD for 10 euro and "Monastery of the Fallen" can be heard at Cvinger's bandcamp site.

Cvinger on Facebook

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