REVIEW: Craft, "White Noise and Black Metal"

By: Mark Ambrose

Album Type: EP

Date Released: 22/06/2018

Label: Season of Mist

With their frenetic guitar work, inspired bits of avant garde songwriting, and bleak lyrics, Craft are dead set on reminding us that the vast majority of existence is a lifeless, black wasteland.  

“White Noise and Black Metal”CD//CS//DD//LP track listing:

1. The Cosmic Sphere Falls

2. Again

3. Undone

4. Tragedy of Pointless Games

5. Darkness Falls

6. Crimson

7. YHVH’s Shadow

8. White Noise

The Review:

               

Summertime black metal is a weird proposition for me.  It’s warm, it’s sunny, everyone is hitting the beach, and, here in the northeastern US, it’s been repugnantly humid.  It feels much more like deathy, sludgy, occasionally grind weather to me.  That deep, swampy rot that makes you want to pass out in the shade somewhere, until the temperature starts to drop at night and the prospect of frost in the morning is suddenly in the air again.  The real beginning of black metal season, in other words.  But occasionally you get something that blasts a frozen gust through the humid misery, showing a glimpse of that endless, cold waste at the heart of black metal.  From what I’ve heard, Immortal’snewest record manages to return the listeners to Blashyrkh, even in the hundred degree days of July.  Less heralded but no less impressive is the latest from Sweden’s Craft, who have been quietly amassing a small but incredible discography in the last twenty years. 

It’s been seven years since Craft laid out a full length, and metal empires have risen and fallen.  It’s appropriate that with opener “The Cosmic Sphere Falls”coalesces around timeless themes: depression, dread, apocalypse, death and destruction.  “It is eternal. It is beyond.”  The winding, interweaving guitar lines, slightly askew time signatures, and whispered/screamed lyrics are hypnotic and terrifying – almost avant garde but simultaneously catchy.  The bass is palpable and there’s nearly no midrange – in my ears a perfect black metal balance.  And while the drumming is amazing, it’s not overly busy.   Lyrically, “Again” is far more harrowing than the icy cold opener.  A description of self-harm descending into self-annihilation, it’s juxtaposed against an undeniably hooky guitar line and rhythmic stomp.  The dual guitar leads of Joakim Karlsson and John Doe, skewing off into discordant tremolo bursts, are sickening, while the double-time bursts are oddly affirming against such miserable themes.

“Undone” solidifies the tension at the core of “White Noise and Black Metal”: personal turmoil and universal chaos.  “Undone”pulls back from the suicidal precipice of “Again”, focusing the speaker’s rage toward a cosmos in need of annihilation.  The tone is appropriately symphonic – spiritually, that is.  This doesn’t go full Dimmu Borgir or anything.  “Tragedy of Pointless Games” trades the epic for the individually misanthropic once again.  It’s a somber dirge that sounds like the best of mid-period Celtic Frost – I even expected some OUGH!s to burst through the gloom.  Instead, singer Nox opines “Awakened and cast into fleshbound pain / Into a tragedy of pointless games,” with such conviction that I felt utterly frozen in the midsummer heat. 

When it feels nearly unbearably grim, “White Noise and Black Metal” shifts toward a black ‘n’ roll banger, “Darkness Falls”.  Somewhat evocative of latter day Satyricon (natch), the first track of side two is a bit of an amalgam of the themes so far, with some creepy otherworldly descriptions sneaking into a grim reality.  But before things can get too fantastical, the true horror emerges at the end: “There's a shadow hanging under a tree / And a rope is a tool to set one free.”  Instrumental track “Crimson”is an interesting dirge, highlighting the musical prowess of Karlsson and Doe, and allowing bassist Phil Cirone’s skillful and restrained work to shine, but it still feels a lot like any other instrumental interlude.

Thankfully the last two tracks may be the best on the record.  “YHVH’s Shadow” is a blasphemous screed that is, once again, catchy as hell, especially in a four on the floor headbanger midsection that may be the most fun on a depressing record I’ve had this year.  The sinewy, sinister lead guitar line was stuck in my head for days after my initial spin of the record, and is some simple, inspired songwriting.  The final track, “White Noise”, is a final kissoff to existence itself – individual or universal, where the human experience is something to be endured, a “distasteful, tiresome thing.”  I should note here that Nox’s delivery is uniformly excellent on the record, but on this track it may be the most intelligible, adding extra heft to the fury.  There’s a dynamic balance between the chugging rhythm guitar and the high end lead work, and a final crescendo that’s so intense it feels like the world itself may be falling to pieces.

Against all expectations, I found myself truly immersed in a black metal record despite the season, despite the warmth, the sun, the muggy misery.  I was reminded that the heat death of the universe is inevitable, that the nature of things is stasis, that death is so, so much longer than the brief bits of living.  “White Noise and Black Metal” is more than a glimpse of winter – it’s a blast of cosmic cold.  With their frenetic guitar work, inspired bits of avant garde songwriting, and bleak lyrics, Craft are dead set on reminding us that the vast majority of existence is a lifeless, black wasteland.  That’s far more chilling than even the darkest Norse myths or winter nights.

“White Noise and Black Metal” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Witchery - "I Am Legion"

By: Daniel Jackson

Album Type:Full Length

Date Released:10/11/2017

Label:Century Media

What ‘I Am Legion’ boils down to is this: Witchery proves here that they’re a band still capable of greatness and creatively this is Witchery’s best album in sixteen years.

  

‘I Am Legion’ CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Legion

2. True North

3. Welcome, Night

4. Of Blackened Wing

5. Dry Bones

6. Amun-Ra

7. Seraphic Terror

8. A Faustian Deal

9. An Unexpected Guest

10. Great Northern Plague

11. The Alchemist

12. Ragnarök (Bonus Track)

13. Apex Ghoul (Bonus Track)

The Review:

It can be a challenge for fans and bands alike whenever a band ventures away from the sound that earned them their fan base. Not all fans are willing to make that journey with a band, and the new sound very rarely ever has the same meaning or impact as what came before. The Crown is an example where their later material suffered from their shift toward down-tuned death metal, all but leaving their speed metal leanings behind, and their musical charisma and personality disappeared with it. Over the years, Witchery’s albums fell at a similar trajectory to The Crown, though the changes they’ve made in style are less severe.

It’s easy to forget just how brief Witchery’s original peak really was. They released three top notch albums and an EP, all within a two-and-a-half year window: October 1998 to February 2001. Since then, their output has been a lot less frequent and less noteworthy. All of the albums following ‘Symphony For The Devil’ have been missing something to one degree or another as they’ve struggled to find their footing.

That brings us to ‘I Am Legion’ and while the Witchery of old and the Witcheryof now may not have as much in common as long time fans might like, they’ve clearly put themselves back on solid ground again. The album proper begins with its lead single “True North”, a deliberately-paced stomper, with a chorus that would have fit in nicely amongst Bathory’s viking metal material. The song is also something of a red herring, though nicely paired with “Welcome, Night”, another mid-paced, rhythm-centric track.

After that point, Witchery shifts into higher gears. “Of Blackened Wing” is a smorgasbord of riffs and styles, ranging from it’s Sabbathian opening riff, into crossover thrash, and even a pinch of recent Darkthrone in the song’s second half. As the album carries on, there’s a healthy balance of thrashing fury and fist-pumping mid-tempo heft. ‘A Faustian Deal’even flirts with Satyricon’s black n’ roll feel, though they find a way to make it fit within their own established stylistic framework. All of this variety definitely counts for something, but really it’s the inspired songwriting that carries this album, whatever the speed. Creatively, ‘I Am Legion” is Witchery’s best album in sixteen years.

What ‘I Am Legion’ boils down to is this: Witcheryproves here that they’re a band still capable of greatness. Getting back up to this level hasn’t been quick or easy for the band, and it’s hard to tell what changed during the brief period between this album and last year’s ‘In His Infernal Majesty's Service’. Whatever it was, they need to find a way to bottle it and save it for anything they do going forward because this is exactly where they needed to be, and it didn’t require reliving old sounds to get here. Witcheryis a great band again in 2017, and it’s a joy to be able to say it.

“I Am Legion” is available digitally here and on CD/LP here.

Band info: Facebook

TOP 16 ALBUMS: The Sour 16 (September 2017)

Allow yourself to indulge in a hefty dose of riffs, because it is time to present 16 of the best albums from September, it is time for your SOUR 16. 

You know the drill by now, each month you the reader are unwittingly compiling a list of the top 16 records of the month, covering all genres of metal.  Is it not a chart, in which reviewers or contributors extol their opinion about their favourite music.  To put it simply, THE SOUR 16 are the records that have been trending the most at SLUDGELORD HQ.

The results are compiled based on the amount of page views the reviews have received and are then calibrated into the list below.  All reviews can be viewed by clicking the artwork and we have included album streams wherever possible. (Total views since their publication are highlighted in the red)

16). Boris - "Dear"(623)

From the opening track, “D.O.W.N. –Domination of Waiting Noise–“, Boris conveys punishing volume so effectively that your ears will ache at practically any level.  Every note and every layered vocal has been obsessed over, placed perfectly in the mix, and acts as a distillation of twenty-five years of intense collaborative synthesis.

15). Order - "Lex Amentiae" (637)

This is harsh, in-your-face, old-school black metal. From the opener "Winter" onward, Order stakes a claim to the thorny crown with its barbarous shrieks, lumbering bass and unyielding guitars.

14). Biblical - "The City That Always Sleeps" (679)

“Mature Themes,” the opening track and lead-off single, certainly showcases a barrage of noise that hits like a barbed-wire baseball bat, but rather than making miles doing this sludgy-psych thing, Biblical branches out far and wide, traversing sonic landscapes that are as vast as the country the band calls home.

13). Major Kong - "Brace for Impact" (713)

Poland's Major Kong tests the limits of music with its new recording, "Brace for Impact." The eight-song release is entirely instrumental and rooted in a science fiction theme. Heady indeed, but Major Kong give you a dense, impressive album regardless.

12). Made Of Teeth- "Made Of Teeth" (721)

Made Of Teeth have produced a confident, punchy, and savage debut that provides the listener with labyrinthine levels of surprises around each corner.

11). Monarch - "Never Forever" (784)

Monarch orchestrates layers upon layers of sound that roil gently like a dirty bayou. Bresson's vocals – from plaintive wisps to growls and beyond – make Monarch unlike anything else you hear in doom or drone. Such innovation is why the outfit has cultivated a devoted following throughout their extensive career. Never Forever" gives you a side of Monarch that is rarely seen, and is indicative of a fearless performance. Drone is seldom this accessible, or distinguished.

10). Usnea - "Portals Into Futility" (815)

The guitars are thoroughly dissonant and murky, the bass is husky and drums voluminous. Then there are the vocals, which feel like they're being delivered with the sort of urgency of someone trapped at the bottom of a deep well. The whole composition of the record is just magnificent for doom fans.

9). Queens of the Stone Age - "Villains" (1040)

The musicianship is some of the best out there, and QOTSA knows its lane and sticks with it. Suffice to say, if you are already a QOTSA fan, chances are this recording will not disappoint, or may just a little. For others, there is an entirely different dialogue.

8). Ufomammut - "8"(1078)

The time signatures will still have you scratching your head and the chugging rhythms are no less heady as they are pummeling. The choice to structure songs rather than to orchestrate them means that the ideas unfold quicker than what we’re used to. A totally different listening experience, sure, but it’s one that offers yet another opportunity to throw some quality, heavy psychedelic doom on the turntable.

7). Spirit Adrift - "Curse of Conception" (1119)

“Curse of Conception” is a glorious success and a dazzling evolution of an already excellent band. 

6). Dyscarnate- "With All Their Might" (1181)

For those death metal fans expecting endless blasting, look elsewhere. For those who want a pit destroying festival of riffs: look no further. This is Dyscarnate’s best album so far and a real beast of modern death metal.

5). With The Dead - "Love From With The Dead" (1401)

The opening quartet of tracks here offers up a relentless onslaught of earth-shaking doom. Tim Bagshaw is on fine form, unleashing an endless stream of mammoth riffs and lead guitar that channel the hazy evil of his finest moments in Ramesses.  Lee Dorrian’s half spoken, half roared vocals work well in amongst the carnage and are a breath of fresh air in the modern doom landscape.

4). Belphegor - "Totenritual" (1802)

Once again, as they have over the vast majority of their discography, Belphegor has produced an excellent album of the best blackened death metal. This is every bit as good as anything else the band has put out from one of the best extreme bands in the world, no question.

3). Satyricon - "Deep Calleth Upon Deep" (1914)

 ‘Deep Calleth Upon Deep’ is something of a spiritual successor to ‘Rebel Extravaganza’ in that the goal appears to have been to take an established sound and create the weirdest, artsiest version of it they could and there is evidence of a sweeping creative resurgence throughout the album as a whole.

2). Monolord - "Rust" (2105)

Monolord hits all the superlative notes when it comes to doom and the album's closing tracks, "Forgotten Lands" and "At Niceae," are as close to perfect as you can get.

1). Paradise Lost - "Medusa"(5226)

Depthless despair, thick production with pounding drums accentuating the force of the material and those classic melodic leads are all encompassing, making this their heaviest album  in years and amongst their best. “Medusa” can and will turn you to stone- as you will be shocked and stilled by just how good it is.

A big thank you as always to our amazing writers, your dedication knows no boundaries and for that I am truly grateful.  September 2017’s SOUR 16 features reviews by:  Richard Maw, Daniel Jackson, Charlie Butler, Mark Ambrose, Victor Van Ommen, Conor O’Dea, Jay Hampshire & Ernesto Aguilar

ALBUM REVIEW: Satyricon - "Deep Calleth Upon Deep"

By: Daniel Jackson

Album Type:Full Length

Date Released:22/09/2017

Label:Napalm Records

 ‘Deep Calleth Upon Deep’ is something of a spiritual successor to ‘Rebel Extravaganza’ in that the goal appears to have been to take an established sound and create the weirdest, artsiest version of it they could and there is evidence of a sweeping creative resurgence throughout the album as a whole.

‘Deep Calleth Upon Deep’ CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Midnight Serpent

2. Blood Cracks Open The Ground

3. To Your Brethren In The Dark

4. Deep Calleth Upon Deep

5. The Ghost Of Rome

6. Dissonant

7. Black Wings And Withering Gloom

8. Burial Rite

The Review:

For most of you reading this; Satyricon requires no introduction. The band was among the most popular in Norwegian black metal dating back to the mid 90s. Opinions, as is often the case, vary as to where the band peaked creatively. For some, it’s their second wave black metal period from ‘Dark Medieval Times’ through “Nemesis Divina”. Others prefer the forward-thinking mania of ‘Rebel Extravaganza’ or the stripped down black n’ roll approach of the last 15 years.

For the purposes of this review, it’s worth pointing out that I believe their creative apex to be the period from ‘Dark Medieval Times’ through ‘Rebel Extravaganza’, with ‘Volcano’ being hit and miss, and everything since then being thoroughly middle of the road; accessible at the cost of any idea that might be exciting or interesting. While the band have never made a bad album, they’ve settled for “fine” for three straight albums, to the point that even the band themselves acknowledge that a change of direction was desperately needed. In the press materials for ‘Deep Calleth Upon Deep’, Satyr spoke to the need for the band to move on:

"Approaching this release, what I always kept in mind is that either this is the beginning of something new or it's gonna be my last record. If this is going to be the last, then it needs to be something special.”

If nothing else, it’s fair to say that this mindset has resulted in the band’s first truly exciting album in the last fifteen years. Contextually, ‘Deep Calleth Upon Deep’ is something of a spiritual successor to ‘Rebel Extravaganza’ in that the goal appears to have been to take an established sound and create the weirdest, artsiest version of it they could. “Rebel Extravaganza” mutated and distorted 2nd wave black metal into something wild and wholly unique. Here, Satyricon twists the much more plain style of the last decade-plus into a truly engaging black n’ roll freakout. In fact, calling ‘Deep Calleth Upon Deep’ “black n’ roll” feels like selling it short. While I may not have found the last several Satyricon albums all that interesting, they’d still cultivated their own unique sound, and each album was immediately identifiable as Satyricon. That identity remains intact here, despite forgoing the tropes and formula they’ve settled into over the years.

A sweeping creative resurgence is evident all throughout the album. Album opener “Midnight Serpent” runs a gauntlet of ideas, ranging from the conservatively black metal opening moments to the sprawling dissonant atmosphere of the song’s 2nd half. “The Ghost of Rome” is about as close as a black metal band has ever come to crafting their own version of late 60s psychedelic pop, or more recently, Queens of the Stone Age's “Another Love Song”.

The point is; it’s more evident than ever that Satyricon will never truly journey back to a conventional black metal sound. Waiting for bands to tap into whatever your perceived peak era for them might be is a recipe for disappointment. Some bands manage to pull it off, but they’re the exceptions. In Satyricon’scase, they’ve finally arrived at a new sound that’s as well-worth exploring as their early glory years. Progress for a band is a good thing, when it works. The road to this point wasn’t a smooth one, but they’ve gotten to where they need to be. They’re very different from the band we knew 20 years ago, but they’re every bit as interesting as they were back then.

‘Deep Calleth Upon Deep’ is available digitally hereand on CD/LP here.

Band info: Facebook