Mefisto - The Megalomania Puzzle

 It's tempting to start this review of this Vic Records retrospective release with just two words and they would be, this rules.  Mefisto are a Swedish band who popped up around the time of the Bathory and there are definitely similar influences here.  Mefisto straddle a world between black metal and thrash metal.  Some metal historians out there might even refer to them as proto-blackened thrash.  Serious metal historians should consult their history books today due to the reviewer writing a review that resembles an astrology column.   If these historians take astrology seriously then it should be noted that their lucky colour is black and their lucky number is 666.   

Time to damn the pseudo-science and get to the meat and potatoes of the music.  The vocals of Sandro Cajander are raspy grunts that fall in the cracks between death and black metal.  The dropped tuning and the guitar distortion blasts through the speakers and kicks all who stand in the way.  A classical guitar feel comes through in "Os Liberty".  The drumming isn't exactly face-melting but sometimes it is the simple approach that works best and this is the case with a lot of Mefisto's material.  There's a heavy Kill Em'All/Ride The Lightning influence on "Underground Circus".  A number of the opening riffs seem to have been pulled from "For Whom The Bell Tolls" but the riffs don't distract from the track as a whole especially since they don't last that long.

Some out there might consider this release to be dated but those  who enjoy 80's style thrashing death will have to seek this puppy out.

4.5/5

Unscarred "Fake Democracy"

 Unscarred are a French based thrash metal band who have an Iranian female lead vocalist.   The band appear to be more influenced by European thrash than the American brand of thrash metal.  There's also a mixture of power metal thrown in for good measure.

The band chug out five songs on "Fake Democracy" with the vocals of  Niloofar Melody being the band's strong point.  She doesn't sound like she's after an endorsement from Children's Television Workshop yet sounds like a woman unafraid of brutality.  There are a few moments where she sounds like a female rapper in a metal band but those don't last for long as she bursts into angry battle cries which are clearly backed by the old and new metal Gods.Although Unscarred are thrash metal, the band aren't always putting their feet on the accelerator which helps Niloofar's vocal performance to really shine.

Those who need their quota of blast-beats will find them whipping their necks during "100 Lashes". There are some tasty guitar leads allowed to reign free within "Meet Your Fate".  Tempo-wise, it's clear that Unscarred enjoy a little variation as this song goes from slow groove metal style to all out thrash a number of times.

  Thrash metal fans of old may see the band's tempo changes as a drawback. A huge disadvantage is none of  the tunes  really have hooks that get stuck in the head and have a listener begging for more.    Nevertheless, soundsUnscarred's thrash metal is an interesting take on a genre that some metal-heads complain is stale.  Those that dig power metal and the more symphonic side of metal should also check this band out.

This release was put out by  Contorted Records, which is run by Matt Baggins.  Matt is also the major player in the great metal blog Two Guys Metal Reviews.

3/5

Unscarred on bandcamp



Unscarred on Facebook

Chugger "Scars"

Chugger are one of David Dahl from melodic Swedish death metal band,  Taketh's other bands.  You remember Taketh?  We reviewed them here.

Chugger are also in the melodic death vein although groove metal also chugs within their engines. The band won't be for those that run a while from melody and clean singing. The band get the toes tapping and the heads banging with "Bleed" which contains a huge groove metal underbelly.  Chugger are more about rocking out than entering into the most brutal of all contest.

 The song "In Vain" has a lot of proper melodic singing instead of just grunting.  The grunts are more present on "C.U.N.T" although at the beginning of the song they duel with clean vocals but end up winning and the band have a crunching metal sound which moves a long to a steady beat and the death vocals take proceedings to an angrier level.  There's a clean guitar sound also dueling with a far dirtier tone and there's no telling who the winner is even after the song ends.

Despite there being guitar riffs and solos that a listener will go back to for further listens, other than the cleanly sung parts most of the five songs really aren't all that catchy. By the way, are five songs on a release an album or an EP these days?  "Scars" is an enjoyable release.  It is bizarre to me that the band state on their bandcamp site that their music can be described as thrash metal as I just don't hear anything from the  thrash metal era in their sound.

3/5


Chugger's band website



Chugger on facebook

Septekh "Plan for World Domination

  After listening to the complaints about their EP's being too short Septekh have released their highly anticipated debut album.  It's clear from the onset that the band will get the death label from a multitude of metal reviewers due to the chosen vocal delivery. Let's just say that the death and roll label is the most fitting although the band utitlize a potpourri of metallic goodness.

The initial song "Into the Void of My Mind"  brings Asphyx to mind and the vocals throughout a very much in this style.  The tempo here is breakneck speed with guitar solos flashing back to the time of the NWOBHM.  "Saving Graces" carries a heavy dose of Iron Maiden and if you consider this to be bad then you really should make an appointment with a medical practitioner as soon as possible.  There's a primitive down and dirty feel to the two and a half minutes of "Neanderthal".

Although the vocals are mainly death growls, there are near spoken/half shouted parts in "Fuck Dollar" and "Don Asshole" which bring to mind the nutty street preacher who tries to save souls by using words.  Septekh's mission is easier to achieve as it is to rock your soul and then knock it around.  Septekh mesh sounds together that really shouldn't go together.  The best example of this is "Eyes of the Grave" which contains a couple of snippets from "Eye of the Tiger" and borrows beats and riffs from Twisted Sister's "Burn in Hell".  The title track borrows more than just it's length from Maiden and early Metallica.The song is just short of eleven minutes.  There's a lot of riffing here that comes from both bands and some of the more thrash style drumming is very much in "Kill 'Em All" vein. There's a chaotic punked-up feel whenever Septekh speed up the tempo.  
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There might be complaints from afar that the album, "Plan for World Domination" is too long clocking in it at sixty minutes.  No such complaint is going to come from these quarters as every listen has seemed less than an hour as the album is enjoyable and there are still sounds from the past to be discovered within.  It's clear from the album title that Septekh are looking forward.  Let's all look forward together to hearing more from this band.

4.5/5

Septekh website

Septekh on facebook

Running Death "The Call of Extinction"

 

The thrash metal revival has been going on for some time now.  Unlike the first wave of thrash where the bands that stood head and shoulders above the rest only came from the United States, a few
U.K bands are on equal footing with their American counterparts.  In the early days of thrash metal, German bands such as Kreator, Sodom and Holy Moses were giving the American bands a run for the money and a much stronger force than anything from the UK.  The likes of Xentrix and Slammer were relegated to second tier for a good reason, that's exactly what those bands were.

German band Running Death are very much part of the new thrash movement.  The band are more influenced by 80's Bay Area bands than those from their own country.  On the first few vocals of Simon Bihlmayer sound like a young James Hetfield on a sick day.   You just wish he'd have a good rest, take medicine and avoid sneezing anywhere close to your proximity.

The drumming is standard meat and potatoes thrash metal fare rather than an attempt to rival Lombardo.  The guitar rhythms however are a different story although they borrow heavily from early Metallica and Testament.  Just before the two minute mark of  "Celebrate Your Aggression", the vocals sound exactly like James Hetfield which fits the music like a glove because it too sounds like early Metallica however the band pick up tempo and the vocalist growls a call to arms "Celebrate your aggression against those bastards" and doesn't sound like he's auditioning for a role on Sesame Street and he shines when he actually comes across as aggressive.  "Hunting for Heads" has early Testament all over it but even given the lack of originality that's still a plus point.

The more aggressive vocals drive the final two songs on this five song EP and Running Death finish on a strong note.  Stronger vocals and maybe more prominent drumming throughout the release would have raised the bar and maybe have these guys sitting pretty alongside the likes of Havok, Warbringer and Toxic Holocaust.



2.5/5


Listen to this album here.


Running Death on facebook

Relentless "Souls of Charon"

Chicago's Relentless provide a serious change of pace from the grindcore albums that were reviewed recently.   Instead of blast-beats and guitar riffs that challenge the speed of light Relentless choose to crush with slow riffs that often contain a serious whiff of Black Sabbbath.

The slow yet crunching riffing in "Trapped Underground" make it crystal clear that this is doom metal.  At first, I heard a lot of Siouxie Sioux in Carlee Jackson's vocals.  After a few more listens there's a haunting from a lot earlier in the seventies and the late sixties in the form of Janis Joplin yet there's still a punkish spirit trying its best to push the elder ghosts of rock past out of the way.  From the opening riff of "Forever Damned", there's no denying the Black Sabbath influence.  The drumming is standard slow tempo and makes way for the much stronger guitar sound which  carries the Iommi patent. .

In many ways, it's unfair to pigeonhole Relentless as doom metal as there are other elements to their music  "Better Off Dead" has a Jefferson Airplane feel with its poppy hooks and guitar sounds that bring Wishbone Ash to mind.  This is a tune to wear light incense and put on flares when you listen to it.  There's a fuzzed out  stoner rock vibe in "Final Wishes".

That Relentless doom metal label is unfortunate as it brings inevitable comparisons to heavyweights such as Black Sabbath, Trouble and Candlemass and the vocal approach here is more attuned to the rock world than metal.  A plus  though is that Carlee sounds like a woman as in the heavier realm as it is becoming more common to rival men in the brutality stakes by sounding exactly like men and that just begs the question: what's the point of having a female vocalist? Unfortunately though the vocals on "Souls of Charon" often don't gel and the band wind up sounding two different newly formed high school bands.

Fans of Fuzz Manta and Valkyrie will find something to like here.  The Fuzz Manta fans will find the vocals appealing and some of the more seventies styled guitar work on "Souls of Charon" is reminiscent of that on Valkyrie's "Man of Two Visions" masterpiece. Sadly despite a number of good parts Relentless don't measure up to either of those bands on "Souls of Charon".

2.5/5

Check out the album on bandcamp


Relentless on facebook

Miserable Failure "Hope"

The grindcore rule book states that songs by bands that claim genre should be short angry bursts that rely on super fast blazing riffs and blast beats.  The myths surrounding this rulebook include that it was written for people with short attention spans so it can be read in less time than Napalm Death's "You Suffer" and that it was originally printed with a lump of black coal then photocopied and handed out at grind gigs on A5 paper.

Lost all semblance of my original train of thought; where was I again?  Oh, yeah.  I was writing a review of French grindcore band, Miserable Failure's "Hope".  It's fast and angry grind.  Four songs in less than four minutes.  Balls jackhammered to the wall by a bullet train sum up this band's approach although they do slow down for a bit in "Goodbye and Good Riddance" to give a sample some breathing space.

If you have four minutes to spare then click the link below for some great grindcore.

Miserable Failure on bandcamp