ALBUM REVIEW: Rivers of Nihil, “Where Owls Know My Name”

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 16/03/2018

Label: Metal Blade Records

“…devastating, melodic, labyrinthine and jam packed with ideas. “Where Owls Know My Name” will go down as a classic genre expanding album and one giant leap forward in  extreme metal

“Where Owls Know My Name” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Cancer/Moonspeak
2. The Silent Life
3. A Home
4. Old Nothing
5. Subtle Change
6. Terrestria III
7. Hollow
8. Death is Real
9. Where Owls Know My Name
10. Capricorn/Agoratopia

The Review:

Following 2015's “Monarchy” was always going to be a mammoth undertaking- as Rivers of Nihil's last record really was superb. They have managed it by taking not only a massive leap forward but also a sidestep of sorts. Think of the difference between “Master of Puppets” and “...And Justice For All” and you have an idea of the differences.

Indeed, this record can perhaps be accurately described as avant garde- in the same way that Celtic Frost's “Into The Pandemonium”was. After the atmospheric scene setting intro of “Cancer/Moonspeak” we are straight into “The Silent Life” which is devastating, melodic, labyrinthine and jam packed with ideas. To be fair, that track description could sum up the whole record. This is not really like anything else I have heard in the extreme metal genre. If “Monarchy” was largely identifiable as tech-death, this is something else entirely.

To be absolutely clear, the textures and sounds on this album are not to be found on many records at this end of the musical spectrum. Saxophone, clean guitars, synths, jazzy drums and noodling bass all combine to make this a fascinating listen. If Cannibal Corpse and Obituary represent two sides of the same death metal coin, then perhaps Rivers of Nihil are akin to something like Bitcoin.

As the record progresses, things get even more progressive; the breadth of sounds and arrangements here are quite dazzling and highly unusual. Picking tracks as highlights is almost impossible being as the record exists as a total piece. It is uniformly consistent in that it is experimental and progressive, it is not in any way samey or boring. The likes of “A Home and Old Nothing” are all of the epithets used so far. There are pulverising bass drums, there are blasting sections of ferocious speed. There are also jazz fusion type breakdowns and an otherworldly atmosphere throughout.

The sounds and approach of “Subtle Change (Including The Forest of Transition)” is a crazily good example of technical performance and forward thinking arrangements coupled with a state of the art production. I guess Mastodon (at their best) could be used as a reference point along with black metal like atmosphere and a harnessing of technology (both in production and instrumentation) that has not always been seen as a good thing in the world of metal.

“Terrestria III: Wither” could soundtrack a 2000AD/Judge Dredd film and contains not a trace of death metal in its sound or scope. The second half of the album pushes forward just as much as the first with “Hollow” or “Death Is Real” being great examples of the record's depth and overall approach (fantastic bass work on the latter) and the title track being an Opeth-like example of prog rock by a band who are absolutely expanding the boundaries of their own playing and also the genre(s) they are operating in.

By the time of “Capricorn/Agoratopia!, I was left wondering (on first listen) what to make of it all. It's hard to take it all in. There is so much going on that the record is very hard to assess on the first couple of listens. I have no idea how much I will listen to this album going forward- it may be all the time, it may be every once in a while. However, one thing is for sure: it will go down as a classic genre expanding album. It's like nothing else I have heard and will deserve the plaudits heaped upon it. One giant leap forward for extreme metal has occurred.

“Where Owls Know My Name” is available here

Band info: bandcamp|| facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Amenra - "Mass VI"

By: Victor Van Ommen


Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 20/10/2017

Label: Neurot Recordings

Amenra’s music is real and comes across as brutally honest. The formula (sonic + emotional heft) = (a heavy album)is one that’s been done many times before, but what Amenra does that sets them apart from the pack is the diligence they use when drinking from the well of inspiration. Amenra makes their listener feel and live with them. This keeps Amenra in touch with why they started making music in the first place. It’s this artistic integrity that helps make “Mass VI” what it is. 

“Mass VI” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1), Children of the Eye

2). Edelkroone

3). Plus Pres de Toi (Closer to You)

4). Spijt

5). A Solitary Reign

6). Diaken

The Review:

“Mass VI” came out on 20^th October and its arrival was marked by a number of shows – neigh, performances – that if the local press is anything to go by, really left a mark. The short and long of it is, when Amenraputs out a record, a shadow falls on the world.

Thematically, this Belgian five piece looks to the darker side of life for inspiration. Focused on heartbreak, sickness, anger and frustration, Amenrauses music as a vehicle to cope with these things. The result, certainly in the case of this new album “Mass VI,” is one that is both sonically and emotionally heavy.  What sets Amenra apart from the pack is the rawness to their sound. It’s as though the top layer of skin has been removed and alcohol is rubbed on the exposed skin to clean the wound. Painful, absolutely, but the cleansing process is needed in order for the healing to begin.

As far as opening tracks are concerned, “Children of the Eye” holds its own. A slow, quiet fade in, underscored by a distant siren, starts the procession. It takes a full minute before a clean version of the song’s main riff is introduced. Slow and brooding, the siren and guitars twist around each other until finally the guitar takes hold, distortion on, and then there’s no turning back.  Singer Colin H. van Eeckhout screams his lungs out as the band plods on. There’s pain in his voice, there’s anguish in the music, and it all comes together as a moment of reflection. It’s not until six minutes in that band lets up a little – a light attack and delicate, falsetto singing – but a short time later, the waterfall of hurt returns. “Children of the Eye”leaves one helluva mark.

The spoken word intermezzo that follows is in itself heavy. Spoken with a Flemmish accent, it tells a story of how the heavens bleed as a form of punishment for the artist. Perseverance conquers here and “Mass VI” makes its way into the next movement, “Plus Pres de Toi”. This song – with the exception of the spoken-word-into-instrumental-bang, “Spijt” – is the shortest on the record yet still serves its purpose as the centerpiece track. Its manic riffing is kept down by the slow drumming and the blood curdling screams. There’s no light at the end of the tunnel, no let up, just a solid attack of post-metal-post-rock. Even when Amenra lightens the load in the song’s midsection, the mood remains bleak and hopeless.

The two songs that close the album account for half the album’s playing time. Starting with “A Solitary Reign,” Amenra gets as close to accessible as they’ll ever come. This track is the one that’s most indebted to the band’s heavy metal influences, yet still manages to remain as unique as the dark tones that led us here. There’s no doubt that this is the strongest track on “Mass VI,” which has as much to do with how the song is structured as well as the vibe it exudes.

“Daiken” closes things out as an 11 minute culmination of everything that makes Amenrawhat they are. The heavy, distorted attack is laid up against moments of softer tones, similar to what Opeth used to do. But Amenra takes this soft/hard juxtaposition in their own hands, owning the softer playing style just as much they do the raw onslaught of their brand of post-metal.

Amenra is a Belgian post-metal band that makes music on their terms and their timeline. On “Mass VI,” they translate their demons clearly to the music. The band waits for the inspiration to come to them before they make music. They don’t seek out inspiration. Because of this, Amenra’s music is real and comes across as brutally honest. The formula (sonic + emotional heft) = (a heavy album) is one that’s been done many times before. What Amenra does that sets them apart from the pack is the diligence they use when drinking from the well of inspiration. Amenramakes their listener feel and live with them. This keeps Amenra in touch with why they started making music in the first place. It’s this artistic integrity that helps make “Mass VI” what it is. 

“Mass VI” is available here

Band info: bandcamp|| facebook

TRACK PREMIERE: Anglo French progressive sludge duo Lark deliver "Too far gone"

“Lark” an informal noun/verb used in the English language refers to an activity regarded as foolish or a waste of time, enjoying oneself by behaving in a playful or mischievous way or something done for fun, especially something mischievous or daring;  an amusing adventure or escape.  Whilst I cannot discern the true meaning of the word in reference to the band name of today’s guests (Lark is also small ground-dwelling songbird), despite what the name suggests, this progressive sludge duo are set to deliver a seriously weighty debut EP, indeed this is serious shit, where dealing with. 

Featuring former members of Bright Curse, their debut self-titled EP is recommended for those who like (Early) Mastodon, Baroness, Opeth, Katatonia.  With the nucleus of the band, formed by two French brothers (Zach and Raph), living in France and England respectively, the two rapidly found ways around the distance between them and started their first creative collaboration at the beginning of 2017.  The result of that their shared a vision is an EP that combines a massive and textured sound with bucket load of groove and that all important sledgehammer riff.

So, with D Day for the release set for Halloween 2017, you can check out an exclusive new track “Too Far Gone”below.  A foolish waste of time, this not.  Press play now, it’ll be a “Lark”

Band info: facebook

INSTRUMENTAL INTERPRETATIONS Part VI: Kylver - "The Island"

By: Phil Weller

Album Type: EP

Date Released: 06/10/2016

Label: Independent

An evil and hypnotic concept album that will have your imagination racing.  ‘The Island’ is an encapsulating and fascinating release which heeds new reward upon repeat listens. It is the closest any metal act has gotten to lucid dreaming.

“The Island” CD//DD track listing:

01). The Great Storm Of 1703
02). Hy-Brasil
03).  Monolith
04). The Abyss
05). The Great Race

The Review:

Battered and buffeted by a tempestuous storm, a privateer ship begins to sink beneath imposing clouds and ravenous waves. Hired in 1703 to scout out a mysterious island which is believed to host a portal to another world, Kylver’sepic new concept album ‘The Island’, follows the ship’s sole survivor as he explores the alien landscapes of The Island, having washed up on its ominous shores, with the unnerving feeling of being followed a constant prickling in his senses.   

A picture, they say, can speak a thousand words. But here, through the musical imagery conjured from this band’s unique sound – one characterised by gigantean, whirling Hammondorgan, droning bass and expressive, artisan guitar work – speaks far more than that. Though no words are spoken throughout, the cinematic experience which unfolds, as their progressively lavished doom metal twists and turns like a writhing beast, is powerfully moving.

‘The Great Storm of 1703’, at nearly fourteen minutes does more than just set the scene as it ducks and dives through dynamic peaks and troughs. From Opeth-meets-Mastodoninspired sections, to demented Deep Purple, surreal psychedelia and beyond, the canvases they create in your resolutely racing imagination are vast and vibrant. They work to create an incredibly immersive body of work that not only follows up their debut offering ‘The Mountain Ghost’, which helped secure the band a nomination at the Prog Magazine Awards earlier this year, it proves the band’s class and worth was not a one time only deal. And in such style too.  

‘Hy-Brasil’ is arguably the record’s most imposing and immediate song. It’s thick, gooey sludge tones are played out at a rapid tempo with mescaline tripping organ screams weaving in and out of guttural guitars. The drums carry the thunder of the opening act into a new setting to great effect, closer ‘The Great Race’ meanwhile an evil and hypnotic song, coming across like a perturbed Ghost (BC).

Beautiful and nuanced, their booming sound may replicate the footsteps of giants and ogres, but the intricacy of the guitar and keyboard playing helps make this an altogether more wholesome piece. This is heavy and threatening and elegant and intelligent. So much goes on across every song, with the band drawing graciously from such a feast of influences and techniques, it would take an age to work through this record’s aural treats and surprises in such a methodical way. Just be sure to know that ‘The Island’ is an encapsulating and fascinating release which heeds new reward upon repeat listens. It is the closest any metal act has gotten to lucid dreaming.

“The Island” is available here

Band info: bandcamp|| official