Axminister - The Crucible of Sin

Label: Self-release

Some times it really is worth looking at the promo sheet. It would have been easy to ignore Toronto band, Axminister simply due to the piles of death and black metal that comes this way and just write them off as another band that will only appeal to fans of those sub-genres and not write about them at all. However the publicity sheet recommends the band for fans of Iron Maiden, Manowar, Slayer and Megadeth. So, there is a warning that it's time to get prepared for revved up speed metal.

It's immediately apparent that Dave Mustaine is a huge influence on the vocal style of Nicholaus Klaus as he employs an incredibly similar snarl. The riffing and song structure of "Prey" and "Salvation" have also been learned from the Megadeth textbook. There's a definite Manowar influence on the chest-beating chorus of "The Trials of Hercules". The vocals are raspier and the chorus isn't quite as catchy as it might have been. The song's best moments are when the vocals stop and the instruments are given a metallic thrashing. The intro to "The Succubus and The Crucible of Sins" is in a sea shanty style that is reminiscent of many a viking and folk metal band however Axminister veer away from the ocean as their desired pirate booty contains thrash metal.



There is undeniable Slayer influence creeping through "Sanctus Equitus Mortis" and strangely the vocals are their strongest on this tune. Axminister add a little melody to the tune and, after a tempo change and a couple of layered choruses, the song then ends in a much more traditional heavy metal fashion.

It's hard to shake the feeling that this is a band still trying to find their own sound. Despite that the Mustaine snarls are great and more of them throughout the EP would have been nice.

Release Date: 4 May 2018

3/5



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Bang - The Best of Bang

Label: Ripple Music

Bang were a cult band back in the early seventies. Power trio Bang released their debut album in 1971. Since the band were considered the American Black Sabbath by some, it could be argued by many whether they fit under proto-metal umbrella or not.

The Black Sabbath influence is so strong on tracks like "Lions...Christians" and "The QUeen" that you wonder how many bats the singer has bitten the head off. There's undeniably heavy UK influence on this group in both senses of the word, "Questions" sounds like a missing link between Stray and Led Zeppelin due to the vocals doing the high-pitched part that Robert Plant became renowned for during his Led Zep days.

There's a delightful simpleness to the rock of "Mother". The song is catchy and there are echoes back to the fab four but while Bang were looking to the past, they were also looking forward. "Keep on" is from a similar mould and you can check this tune out on soundcloud. (Yay, I finally got my head around Soundcloud. Oh, no. I didn't. That site still sucks for embedding music on blogger). Many listeners will hear the roots of both what is now known as classic rock and also doom metal on tracks such as "Feel The Hunt". If "Windfair" was stacked up through more amps and turned up to 11, it'd sound rather similar to an English band named after torture device. There's some great soloing on "Don't Need Nobody". "Feels Nice" has a huge Zeppelin influence and if you've never liked Zep, this track will also beg the question, why does he sing like that?

This Anthology will nestle down in the vinyl format in the record collections of stoner and psychedelic rock/proto-metal fans and meat and potatoes hard rock fans. If you've enjoyed any rock albums that were released in the early seventies or if you'd like to, then "The Best of Bang" is a good arrival point.

4/5

Release date: 20 April 2018

Mordor - Darkness...

Pagan Records



Here's another comeback album. Poland's doom metal peddlers, Mordor have definitely taken a long time between drinks. It has been 21 years since there previous album. The band blot the landscape by painingt a bleak atmosphere with heavy riffs and deep throaty vocals.

The band walk the tightrope between atmospheric post-rock or post-metal on many on their tunes. There's a black metal influence on "L.U.C.I.F.E.R." with a similar guitar tone and incredibly fast drumming that veers away from plodding doom metal but Mordor still keep their musical template. There's a slow build to "Melancholy", which incorporates black metal with a more atmospheric sound which are married with deep gruff caveman style vocals that would seen many a sludge band green with envy. The band convey a Gothic feel that in the album closer, "Dark Room", which has a sparse and dark sound.



Fans of death-doom will eat this album up and non-purist black metal fans will be intrigued by the manner in which Mordor has incorporated one of their favourite metal sub-genres. There aren't any quick hooks on "Darkness.." so those looking for a quick metal fix won't find much to their liking here as Mordor favor long songs with no tunes briefer than six minutes.

3/5

Release date: April 20 2018


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Satanic Surfers - Back from Hell

Label: Mondo Macabre

This Swedish punk band's comeback album should be right up my alley. After all, I loved the pop punk that the Epitaph record label was putting out in the mid-90's.

However this album is boring as hell. Sure there's loud guitars and it's fast and melodic but it's mostly generic as hell. There is an experiment with combining reggae with Pennywise style surf/skate punk on "Self-Medication" and whilst it doesn't really help the song that it comes in late in the picture, it's hard to shake the feeling that this is the most innovative Satanic Surfers get.. "Ain't No Ripper" sounds like came straight from a skateboarding video soundtrack and Satanic Surfers got a well used but reliable cookie cutter. "Madhouse" asks that age old question, "Who let the dogs out? "Nowhere Fast" has a speedy edge that is reminiscent of the faster material on the later Descendents album but not quite as catchy. "Paying Tribute" is the Satanic Surfers version of the Descendents "Thank You" but the Swedes have a punk and roll edge.



This album will no doubt appeal to fans of skate punk and 90's pop punk fans who still pop out their old CD's now and again. Those looking for hooks and those looking something on the harder side of pop punk may find a little of what they are searching for on "Back From Hell" but whether it satisfies or even leaves the listener wanting more is uncertain.

2.5/5

Release date: April 13 2018



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Vantablack Warship - Vantablack Warship

Record Label: Self-release

I remember going circuses as a kid enjoying the animals doing tricks, laughing at the clowns and being enthralled by the gymnastics of the trapeze artists and the tightrope workers. The tightrope walkers especially captured my attention as somebody who absolutely hates looking down from heights. I've always started shaking when I'm on the third floor of a shopping mall if I can see below. The enthrallment is similar for music, when bands straddle the tightrope between genres it's fascinating and attention grabbing. Vantablack Warship straddle the tightrope between hardcore and metal.

You might be asking yourself, which kind of metal do these genre-benders straddle? On "Another Dead Rockstar", it's black metal but there's an undeniable modern hardcore edge. On "Black Tongue Bertha", it's groove metal and I'd guess that a few members of this band own both Pantera T-shirts and albums. The vocals are spat out Phil Anselmo style. "Blood on the Mat" is Pantera wrestling with Converge. Kneel and pray you don't get hurt as a mere spectator. Towards the end of the song when a more standard rock beat is set down, the vocals move in the puking and growling direction of Blaine from The Accused.





Is death metal groove a thing or groove death metal? Because that's the twisted direction that "Kill this Kid" takes. It's slow but there's a metallic edge and a grooving underbelly. There's a little of nineties noise rock twisted in their mixture too. Amphetamine Records fans should be all over this track. There's a clear Slayer influence on the riffing on "Ruderalis" although the vocals lean towards blackened hardcore. "Abrasive Pulmonic Speak" sounds like Helmet jamming with Slayer. The chorus to "Crisis" is oddly reminiscent of "Stay Hungry" period Twisted Sister but the tune is a lot heavier and sludgier than anything Dee Snider's crew did in the eighties.

On surface level, Vantablack Warship come across as a metallic hardcore but scratching below the murky surface, the band are integrating nineties noise rock and black metal. If you wanted to hear any of the bands mentioned in this review take on a more experimental edge then I'd recommend checking this album out. With the eight song on full album clocking in at under thirty minutes, Vantablack Warship, thankfully don't wear out their welcome. In this day and age of over sixty minute albums and even songs, brevity is warmly welcomed.

3.5/5

Release Date: 26 January 2018

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Untime - Untime

Record Label: Ampmandens Records



I'm willing to stake my wages that when you think Norway and metal, groove metal is not what comes to mind. It's more likely black metal, which conjures up images of bleak weather, snow and forests in the Scandinavian country. Groove metallers Untime have been knocking around for twenty years. They've finally got around to releasing their debut album this year.

As Untime are a groove metal band, the Pantera influence shines through brightest but there's also a tablespoon of "River Runs Red" period Life of Agony. Tracks such as "Some to Pay" open with that guitar tone and chugging rhythm that Pantera were renowned for during the nineties. "Mysterious Ways" is thankfully not a U2 cover but a fierce and muscular Untime groove metal original. "The Chosen One" is how Pantera would sound if they'd allowed New York tour mates Biohazard to influence their sound.

Untime's drummer bashes his kit in "This Picture". The vocals are somewhere in between rap, hardcore and metal without the band abandoning the groove metal template. Untime prove they're far from one dimensional groove metallers in "One Step", which contains a heavily grungy underbelly. "Manipulation" comes off as pure nineties Pantera worship. Untime sound stronger when they go down the Biohazard road and integrate elements of hardcore and rap like on the track, "Pale and Grey"than when they imitate the band who claimed to be stronger than all. It might be telling that the last track is called, "This is Nothing Compared to What's Coming". Hopefully what is coming doesn't sound as much like Pantera.

3/5

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Rapture - Paroxym of Hatred

Record Label: Memento Mori


How good can a Greek retro-thrash metal be? Rapture play unrelenting, ferocious thrash with a touch of death that is a throwback to the early eighties. Easy reference points are Slayer, Dark Angel and Kreator. This is largely due to the vocals of Apostolos Papadimitriou, whose barks fall somewhere between Mille Petrozza and Tom Araya. The band thrash along the Teutonic highway rather than taking in the sea air of the Bay Area. When Rapture go full throttle, they veer into death metal territory but keep the thrash edge, which is a feat not many bands can pull off. Just get a load of the death metal and thrash metal banging together tightly in the title track.

Those who like their thrash metal on the technical side will find what Rapture have served up on this vinyl to their taste as it is undeniably present in tracks like "Redemption through Isolation" and "Quintessence of Lunacy" plus a number of others. There's no doubt each of the musicians in this band can play their instruments with razor sharp precision and it's the tightness of the musicianship, which will have many a metal fan drooling over this band due to this release.



Other band comparisons that are likely be thrown at Rapture due to the sheer strength of "Paroxysm of Hatred" are Sadus, Dark Angel, Pestilence, early Believer and Demolition Hammer. This is Rapture's second album and is already a serious contender for album of 2018 in these quarters. 2017 was a great year for metal and 2018 is shaping up to be even better.

4/5

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