ALBUM REVIEW: KEN mode, "Loved"

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 31/08/2018

Label: Season of Mist |

New Damage Records

Few records will match the sheer rage and intensity of “Loved” this year. Almost 20 years into their existence, KEN mode have released their finest work that sets the bar for riff-heavy noise rock in 2018.

“Loved” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Doesn't Feel Pain Like He Should

2. The Illusion Of Dignity

3. Feathers & Lips

4. Learning To Be Too Cold

5. Not Soulmates

6. Very Small Men

7. This Is A Love Test

8. Fractures In Adults

9. No Gentle Art

The Review:

Winnipeg trio KEN mode make a welcome return with new LP “Loved”. It is by far the nastiest entry in their impressive body of work and all the better for it.

The album screams into life with “Doesn’t Feel Pain Like He Should”, a feral burst of sludged up noise rock that sounds like Unsane plugged into the mains. KEN mode have always dealt in a potent blend of churning low-end rumble, razor wire guitar lines and frantic vocals but they have never sounded as livid and visceral as they do on “Loved”. “The Illusion Of Dignity” continues the carnage, this time raising the intensity levels with furious squalls of saxophone at the track’s climax. Somehow the band manage to maintain this frightening level of ferocity through “Not Soulmates” and “Very Small Men” while introducing some touches of Botch style math rock into the fray.

“This Is A Love Test” provides some welcome respite with passages of quiet restrained menace bolstered by more saxophone, this time providing unsettling melody. These periods of calm only serve to emphasise the abrasive attack when the band kick back into high gear.

After eight tracks of seething rage, KEN mode somehow manage to save their hardest hitting track for last. “No Gentle Art” is a masterclass in slow-burn build and release dynamics, rising from a barely audible bass pulse and muttered threats into an utterly devastating one chord onslaught riddled with screams, feedback and wild saxophone noise. The music is the perfect match for Jesse Matthewson’s repeated howls of “STOP GIVING ME HOPE”, the sound of all dreams being ground into dust.    

Few records will match the sheer rage and intensity of “Loved” this year. Almost 20 years into their existence, KEN mode have released their finest work that sets the bar for riff-heavy noise rock in 2018.

“Loved” is available to preorder/buy here& here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Timeworn - "Venomous High"

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 02/06/2017

Label: Fysisk Format

Some of the most engaging moments on “Venomous High” come when Timeworn move slightly away from their core sound.  “All Chiefs” finds the band at their most unhinged as they unleash an arsenal of spidery math-metal riffs with breakneck rock’n’roll abandon. Anyone missing Swiss behemoths Kruger will find a lot to enjoy in this killer track. “Venomous High” is a fine offering from Timeworn that takes an array of well-worn modern metal influencesand blows them up on a grand scale.

“Venomous High” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Measure of Gold

2). All Chiefs

3). The Trail

4). Black Peak Blues

5). The Infectious Gloom

6). Ur Syntax

7). Night of Owls

8). Traitors to the Crown

9). Venomous High

The Review:

Timeworn’s new LP “Venomous High” is a slab of burly Mastodon-style complex sludge injected with a shot of post-rock grandeur. The albums production is perfectly pitched to capture the Oslo quintet’s strengths – smooth and polished enough to distil their rich melodic side but nasty enough to harness their weighty crunch. Opener “Measure of Gold” display all of these elements over seven epic minutes and provides a strong foundation for the bands sonic explorations over the rest of the album. “The Trail” provides a welcome moment of calm in the form of a brief piano-led instrumental that acts as an extended introduction to the hulking “Black Peak Blues”. The slowest and heaviest track on the record, it is both crushing and darkly melancholic

Some of the most engaging moments on “Venomous High” come when Timeworn move slightly away from their core sound.  “All Chiefs” finds the band at their most unhinged as they unleash an arsenal of spidery math-metal riffs with breakneck rock’n’roll abandon. Anyone missing Swiss behemoths Kruger will find a lot to enjoy in this killer track. The band bring some no nonsense stoner rock attitude to “The Infectious Gloom”, particularly in the infectious refrain that carries a little bit of Clutch’s swagger.

“Venomous High”is a fine offering from Timeworn that takes an array of well-worn modern metal influences and blows them up on a grand scale. It is a record that could have a wide appeal while remaining true to its underground roots.

“Venomous High”is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: The Ditch And The Delta - "Hives In Decline"

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 12/05/2017

Label: Battleground Records

The Ditch and The Delta’s sound is a killer blend of fret-mangling math rock and stoner doom aggression. They strike a perfect balance between complexity, melody and no-nonsense gnarly heaviness.

“Hives In Decline” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Hives In Mind

2). Fuck On Asphalt

3). Sleeping Dogs

4). Dry Land

5). Till Body Quits

6). Mud

7). Dread Spectacle

The Review:

Salt Lake City Trio The Ditch And The Delta are set to make a lot of people sit up and take notice with new LP “Hives In Decline”.

The first riff of the title track rips through the calm introductory drone like Keelhaulblazing through High On Fire’s backline. This sets the tone for the rest of this exhilarating album. The Ditch and The Delta’s sound is a killer blend of fret-mangling math rock and stoner doom aggression. They strike a perfect balance between complexity, melody and no-nonsense gnarly heaviness.

“Fuck On Asphalt” channels the epic sludge of early Baronessand Kylesato fine effect. The mid-section where the band provide slow motion backing to twin searing guitar solos particularly highlights the genius at work here. It should sound like an overcrowded mess but somehow all these disparate elements are brought together in seamless fashion.

“Dry Land” provides some mid-album riff respite with a short, quiet instrumental complete with slide guitar flourishes that add a weird but cool country edge. The second half of the album then roars into life with “Till Body Quits” and “Mud”. Both tracks see the band widen their sonic spectrum to include more spidery guitar lines, melodic tapping and hints of the Hydrahead School of metallic hardcore.

The record closes with “Dread Spectacle” where The Ditch and The Delta add a healthy dose of Neurosisstyle cathartic doom into the mix. When the track breaks down to sparse guitar and Kory Quist’s weary vocals it recalls Scott Kelly at his ragged best.

“Hives In Decline” sees The Ditch and The Delta takes a number of well-worn influences and breathe new life into them to create an addictive blast of intelligent sludge. An essential purchase for all riff aficionados.

“Hives In Mind” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

REVIEW: Ilenkus - "Hunger" (EP)

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: EP
Date Released:  19/10/2016
Label: Independent

 

 

Ilenkus deliver a whirlwind blur of off-kilter riffage, pummelling blast beats and finger-mangling fretboard gymnastics.  Once the dust settles you will feel battered and bruised, but with a nagging urge to subject yourself to the pain all over again. 

 

“Hunger” DD track listing

 

1). Hunny Bunny

2). Pretty Secret

3). Exhume

4). The Romantic

 

The Review:

 

Galway quintet Ilenkusdeliver an impressive riffs-per-minute ratio on new EP “Hunger”. The band tears through four tracks of breathless mathematical mayhem in just under fifteen minutes. Once the dust settles you will feel battered and bruised with a nagging urge to subject yourself to the pain all over again.

 

“Hunny Bunny” starts proceedings with a whirlwind blur of off-kilter riffage, pummelling blast beats and finger-mangling fretboard gymnastics. The effect is like a more ragged Dillinger Escape Plan with their clinical precision blunted by ugly sludged-up fury. “Exhume” is a similarly intense affair opening with a wild collision of blown out post-rock and grindcore worthy of Cult Leader. From there things take a progressive turn into weirder, spacier territory without relenting on the vitriol.

 

Even when Ilenkusslow the tempo, there is no let-up in heaviness and complexity. “Pretty Secret” opens with a crushing needle-skip chug before exploring quieter sections of restless math-rock. This builds to a lumbering, doom finale that provides the EP’s most punishing moment. “The Romantic” sees the band dabble in churning noise rock groove, shards of serrated guitar providing an odd respite before the track once again plunges into a cauldron of molten rage.

 

“Hunger” is an exhilarating ride that takes in more twists and turns than most bands squeeze into a career. Hopefully it won’t be too long before Ilenkus return with an album of glorious chaos.

 

“Hunger” will be available here

 

Band info: FACEBOOK|| TWITTER|| INSTAGRAM|| BANDCAMP|| SOUNDCLOUD