The Serpent's Breath VI: Passion

The formula wearing thin, Anaal Nathrakh have opted to mix it up a bit on Passion. The duo break out the grind and industrial elements with more abundance this time around.

It works to an extent. A very limited one.

As musicians, both Dave Hunt and Mick Kenney have grown far past their primitive, honest origins on The Codex Necro. Kenney's chops have been getting progressively more varied, aggressive, and melodious, while Dave Hunt has shown numerous feats of technical harsh-singing prowess by changing styles on a whim. These elements of instrumentation carry over onto Passion perfectly fine. The production, something the band has always had an issue with, hurts them in every way possible. Guitars are subdued in the worst of ways, the bass is virtually inaudible, the drums are once again sterile and that damn snare is clicking again.

High-speed grinders like "Post Traumatic Stress Euphoria" and "Locus Of Damnation" are as aggro as you would expect from these guys. Dave Hunt's vocals on "Tod Huetet Uebel" are technically brilliant and as deranged as ever, and the slower second half of the track is a unique touch for Anaal Nathrakh. "Drug-Fucking Abomination" is another pseudo-experiment on their part: it features a prolonged intro and eschews the typical popular song construct that they tend to follow. That dynamic pops up on "Paragon Pariah," which is decent at best coming from a back catalog of so many similar tracks.

Passion at times feels like a vain attempt by Anaal Nathrakh to avoid stagnating in their own filthy, misanthropic mire. The duo love their trademark sound but don't seem to know where to go with this release, and it leads to half-baked tracks on the latter half of the album. The last three are inane, lifeless tracks that don't do much to further the sound they started toying with early. The redeeming qualities on Passion, ones we've seen time and again, aren't enough to make it worth listening to over their vastly superior back catalog.

5.0 out of 10

Tracklisting:
1. Volenti Non Fit Iniuria
2. Drug-Fucking Abomination
3. Post Traumatic Stress Euphoria
4. Le Diabolique Est L'ami Du Simple
5. Locus Of Damnation
6. Tod Huetet Uebel
7. Paragon Pariah
8. Who Thinks Of the Executioner
9. Ashes Screaming Silence
10. Portrait Of The Artist

Listen // Buy

Pseudogod - Triumphus Serpentis Magni

Bestial black metal - we all love it or love to hate it. Pseudogod is a Russian band, and up until 2012 they've only performed on splits. Their new LP Deathwomb Catechesis just dropped last month and I'll be covering that one shortly. As for now, I'll be reviewing their compilation album, Triumphus Serpentis Magni.

I'm not impressed. Bestial black metal is supposed to be gritty, dark, and brutal with tinges of cult-like atmosphere. Triumphus Serpentis Magni has the grittiness, the "dark" sound, and tinges of the atmosphere, but the brutality is lost in the poor mixing and muffled production.

Now before you bitch me out with rants about how black metal (especially bestial black metal) is supposed to be muddled and poorly produced, this album doesn't have the songwriting to back it up. Everything on Triumphus Serpentis Magni is predictable and as uninspired as the legions of Canadian bands that wish they were Blasphemy. Honestly even after listening to the album a few times, I can't recall anything about the first two tracks "Branded By Hornz" and "The Firstborn of Abhorrence." They're both very typical exercises in bestiality with a generic structure and forgettable soloing. The compilation ends with a Beherit cover from the kvlt classic Drawing Down The Moon. It's alright, but still a cover.

However I did find myself somewhat enjoying the track "Illusion of Salvation." Obviously it's dense and murky like the rest of the release, but it has a great headbanging riff and a few slower segments making it less formulaic. The track "Azazel" is by and far the best on here though, with some extremely aggressive drumming and a discernible main riff. It's a pounding whirlwind with slightly better production than the rest of the release.

Even as a compilation I guess Triumphus Serpentis Magni falls flat since it only covers one of their splits with Blaze Of Perdition (and technically some demo material), but whatever. Based on the number of quality tracks (two out of five) and the half-decent cover, I feel like this short compilation is pretty average.

5.0 out of 10

Tracklisting:

1.	Branded By Hornz
2.	The Firstborn of Abhorrence
3.	Illusion of Salvation
4.	Azazel
5.	Gate of Nanna (Beherit cover)

Goatwhore - Blood For The Master

Goatwhore is back. Get your mouth ready and clear your throat, because there's no way you won't want to suck these guys' cocks when you're done listening to the glorious evilness that is Blood For The Master!

Just messing with you. Obviously this is still a Goatwhore album so you'll be about as "wowed" by this album as I was when I woke up and saw that the sky was still blue.

I find it irritating that these guys are considered one of the leaders of blackened thrash in the current metal scene. Whatever happened to killer bands like Aura Noir, Nifelheim, and Sauron? At least Aura Noir has a new album out this year, which I will be reviewing shortly. I guess it's because the sub-subgenre has been dominated by Deströyer 666 and older Goatwhore for so long that they've become associated with the term premiere despite playing pretty standard and predictable music that borrows heavily from more capable artists that came before them. Not that these guys are bad mind you, they are certainly very capable musicians. Just rather unimaginative ones.

Obviously Metal Blade doesn't help either with the way they seem to force producers to record albums in the most sterile way possible. I do have a smidgeon of respect for Erik Rutan because he played in Ripping Corpse and he founded Hate Eternal (who have always been hit or miss), but his production on Blood For The Master leaves a lot to be desired. Perhaps the band wanted a more thrash-heavy sound, but not a single track on here reaches the expected level of headbanging brutality. Even compared to their previous releases like Carving Out The Eyes Of God, this one feels like a featherweight. The bass is audible but clean and low in the mix, and the snare is very tight. It gives the album that nice, pleasing sound of a band recording an album with "pro tools" - and that's not something I want to hear from blackened thrash. I want dirty, dark, thrash aggression, not flower-power overproduction.

Other than my hatred for the production, the songs on Blood For The Master are for the most part typical Goatwhore: black metal-styled vocals with thrash guitarwork, mixed with d-beats and the occasional blasts. Nothing on Blood For The Master is above proficient levels of technicality, and the solos often involve arpeggios and slow-moving hammer-ons. "Parasitic Scriptures Of The Sacred Word" and "Judgement Of The Bleeding Crown" feature some of the better solos, and the latter also features some death growls which seem to start becoming prominent on and after "In Deathless Tradition." I like the more death metal-influenced riffing on these tracks. It gives way to some black metal tremolo picking, but I feel like they do the headbanging death metal style pretty adequately.

Single "Collapse In Eternal Worth" and its follow-up "When Steel And Bone Meet" are solid if predictable tracks as well with some of the more aggressive lyrics and vocalwork by L. Ben Falgoust II. It's not really bad per se, but I really just don't feel much when it comes to tracks like the acoustic intro'd "Embodiment Of This Bitter Chaos" and album closer "My Name Is Frightful Among The Believers." They're forgettable at best, and unbearably boring at worst.

The tracks on Blood For The Master range from bland to passable, and are often hindered by the production. At a listenable thirty-eight minutes though, at least it's easy to sit through the album despite its shortcomings. Goatwhore still doesn't manage to impress with their latest effort, but who knows? Maybe someday they'll release a real black/thrash masterpiece.

5.25 out of 10

Tracklisting:

1.	Collapse in Eternal Worth
2.	When Steel and Bone Meet
3.	Parasitic Scriptures of the Sacred Word
4.	In Deathless Tradition
5.	Judgement of the Bleeding Crown
6.	Embodiment of This Bitter Chaos
7.	Beyond the Spell of Discontent
8.	Death to the Architects of Heaven
9.	An End to Nothing
10.	My Name Is Frightful Among the Believers

Harder to find than a capable drummer for a speedcore band.

Act Of God - Kaosism

Act Of God are a Russian blackened death metal band attempting to sound aggressive like genre titans Behemoth and brooding like NYDM legends Immolation. Instead they sound more awkward than anything on Kaosism, but that's not to say it's a poor album. Just a poorly executed one. Also the album cover first caught my eye because it looked like Dawn Of Possession's, but on closer inspection it's a bit different.

Binary intro aside, "Rain on the Earth" is a solid opener. It's got that intentionally janky Immolation riffing and ends on a mid-range solo. The next few tracks are a bit less impressive, with "Great Arise" being a reject from Behemoth's already weak discography. For some reason there's an uninspired industrial electro beat on the filler track "Gladius Diaboli," which leads into the fucking boring "Day Of Revenge." In fact if I had to describe the first half of Kaosism in one word, it'd be that: boring.

The latter half of the album is where Act Of God's Immolation influences shine a bit more. "Daath" is an otherwise predictable track until the solo, and "Vortex Of Devastation" uses some interesting rests and time signatures. These later tracks are also a bit more mid-paced, but that makes them feel less generic. In fact the closing track (not counting the outro "Ordo Nihil") "Exodus to Nothing" capitalizes on some pretty sweet, slower riffing.

Sadly while there are some interesting riffs and rhythms on the latter half of Kaosism, the album as a whole has some really weak mixing. There's almost no bass to speak of, and although each musician's performance is moderately technical, the production really kills it. It's quite tough to get into a metal album that's lacking heaviness or atmosphere, and this album is lacking both in quantities that make it painful.

5.0 out of 10

Tracklisting:

1.	10100011010
2.	Rain on the Earth
3.	We Are Omen of Coming Reign
4.	Great Arise
5.	Gladius Diaboli
6.	Day of Revenge
7.	Daath
8.	Vortex of Devastation
9.	Bleeding Creature
10.	Life Denied
11.	Exodus to Nothing
12.	Ordo Nihil

Black Tusk - Set The Dial

Black Tusk Day - Part Deux!

2011's Set The Dial popped up barely a year after Taste The Sin. That always worries me. When a band releases albums frequently, there's a high probability that they're either Azgorh of Drowning The Light or awful. Fans of Black Tusk should hope that the one-year album cycle doesn't become the norm for these Georgian "swamp metallers."

Set The Dial is clearly hurt by this. It doesn't have the mixing goodness of it's predecessor either. I feel like Black Tusk must've been rushed in the studio or something because although most these songs are pretty typical, some feel as though they're rudimentary recordings. Opener "Bring Me Darkness" is a substandard track that I often forget is even on the album. I usually just start it at "Ender of All" because I can actually get into the infectious stoner grooves on that track. "Carved in Stone" is another fun track with some interesting drumming that collapses into a doom-filled wasteland just in time for the title track, "Set the Dial to Your Doom." Sadly the title track is pretty forgettable, as are both of the instrumentals "Brewing The Storm" (the intro) and "Resistor."

The last three tracks on the album are a bit more entertaining. "This Time Is Divine" has some cool harmonics and "Crossroads and Thunder" is catchy hardcore sludge to the bone. Shame the rest of the album wasn't nearly as good as the last few tracks. I feel like had Black Tusk been given (or decided on) more time to develop Set The Dial, it would've turned out easily as well as its predecessor. Maybe it was because they had a three album record deal with Relapse and wanted to get the fuck out. Who knows.

5.75 out of 10

Tracklisting:

1.	Brewing the Storm
2.	Bring me Darkness
3.	Ender of All
4.	Mass Devotion
5.	Carved in Stone
6.	Set the Dial to Your Doom
7.	Resistor
8.	This Time is Divine
9.	Growing Horns
10.	Crossroads and Thunder

The Antlers - Burst Apart

Time for something different. Don't worry, it's just one review!

"Hipster" has become such a meaningless term with all those forum-reading internet dipshits throwing the term around at everything that doesn't fit their opinion. I know because I am one of those forum-reading internet dipshits, but at least I try to use the trite label with a degree of integrity.

With that said The Antlers are a very "hipster" band. Their music is comprised of simple, mellow indie rock songs with a lot of subtle ambient nuances. Sounds like it could be cool if done right, right? Indeed. And it was pretty awesome too back on Hospice. With Burst Apart The Antlers took a page from Pitchfork's guide on how to appeal to idiots and replaced their fleeting yet powerful wisp-like atmosphere with a more boring and predictable pop approach. However the atmosphere is still there, buried under a thick, crusty layer of banality.

The first three tracks on the album are a testament to this and honestly hardly worth paying attention to. Both the opener and "French Exit" are boring and uninspired, play off of beats and chord progressions we've all heard before, and not worth listening to. "Parentheses" - the Itunes (iTunes?) single is an absolute mess of a track with an emphasis on rhythm, but I feel like it does a good job of leading into "No Widows" which is actually pretty good. Here that dreamy atmosphere from Hospice seems to manifest itself due to a great use of (subtle) keyboards.

The second half of the album is much stronger and even a bit folksy at times. "Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out" even has a banjo, and it's actually used competently. The track "Hounds" is a grower, with an almost post-rock like vibe to it. It's pretty cool, especially when the trumpet comes in though I've never liked when vocal melodies become the mainstay of any track and they do prior to the trumpet. There's also a lot of ambiance with songs like "Tiptoe," "Corsicana," and "Putting The Dog To Sleep," but sadly most of these tracks are more about making up for the atmosphere that the first half of the album sorely lacked. Overall the album really isn't worth more than a listens and perhaps a song or two.

5.25 out of 10

I was actually going to see this band live with my girlfriend but the tickets sold out before we could buy them. Maybe it's a good thing I didn't if they were going to play most of this album...

Tracklisting:

1. I Don't Want Love
2. French Exit
3. Parentheses
4. No Widows
5. Rolled Together
6. Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out
7. Tiptoe
8. Hounds
9. Corsicana
10. Putting the Dog to Sleep

Rotten Sound - Cursed

And I did want to cleanse my ears after listening to their new album. Rotten Sound's Cursed is a filthy grimefest of grinding guitars and brutality with no lasting impact whatsoever. Is Cursed aggressive? Yes. Do the riffs have that awesome fuzzy Scandinavian sound? Yes. Is it memorable at all? No, not really.

With Cursed Rotten Sound have created a completely forgettable but completely serviceable grindcore album. All the aggression is here, the production is barely passable, and the album does have a degree of variety, but none of the songs stick. The riffs are forgettable, the drumming is predictable, and the vocals are lost a bit in the mix as is the bass (except on "Doomed"). In fact I'd go so far as to say the latter half of the album is more memorable than the more aggressive first half due to having a bit more variety. Songs like "Declare" and "Exploit" slow to a relative crawl and "Addict" even features a solo that you won't remember two seconds later.

The production is professionally done but probably the weakest aspect of the album. There is no brutality to hear on Cursed, and if you're like me and want your grindcore to be a soundtrack to you smashing faces, that really sucks. "Superior" and "Hollow" hint at the brutality, but once again the shitty production really takes that feeling away before it manifests. Someone else described the production in a positive light with the word "industrial," and that might just be a testament to how mechanical and artificial this record feels.

I guess this combination of mishaps makes Cursed a marketable, mass-producible grindcore album since it has all the highlights of the genre, but absolutely zero uniqueness. A disappointment for me, but perhaps going into it without expectations would lead one to be pleasantly surprised.

5.5 out of 10

Tracklisting:

1.	Alone
2.	Superior
3.	Self
4.	Choose
5.	Hollow
6.	Ritual
7.	Green
8.	Machinery
9.	Power
10.	Plan
11.	Declare
12.	Addict
13.	Exploit
14.	Terrified
15.	Scared
16.	Doomed

Fleshless - Slaves Of The God Machine

I know I know, I'm behind. Don't worry though. I plan on adding three reviews tonight to make up for the last three days. Here's Monday's.

Fleshless is notorious for having silly album covers. Disproportionate people doing odd things ranging from implementing bizarre torture methods to wheelbarrowing corpses, each cover features their own demented Eddy-esque mascot. Having picked up Slaves Of The God Machine hoping for some brutal death metal (or maybe even grindcore) fun, I was quite surprised when melodious hooks and even an "emotional" synth blared out of my speakers.

The surprise wasn't too long lived as I began to digest the tracks. Each had its share of predictable, forgettable chug-along riffs. In fact Slaves Of The God Machine is pretty much littered with them, the occasional hook or lead bursting through the mire of mediocrity to send you into a headbanging frenzy for 10-15 seconds before you're forced to endure another minute of insipidity. There's a few solid highlights like "False Ascension," the mosh-friendly "Truth In Flesh," and the brutal death metal tinged "Mechanic Pregnancy." The rest of the album has a few decent mid-paced thrash-along riffs (like on "Sins Reversed"), but it's nothing I haven't heard a hundred times before.

Vocally speaking, there's still a hint of brutal death metal in the music. Vladimir Prokos' vocals drop to the occasional abyssal gurgle, which is a bit odd considering the melodic leads usually playing at the same time. The musicianship on Slaves Of The God Machine is entirely competent, and the production suits this kind of music well. Sadly the songwriting itself isn't nearly as interesting, and you'll find yourself saying "I've heard this before" several times throughout the album.

Oh and did I mention they totally have songs called "Intro" and "Outro" on here? I fucking hate that.

5.25 out of 10

Tracklisting:

1.	Intro
2.	Fixed
3.	Truth in Flesh
4.	To Dethrone God
5.	False Ascension
6.	Sins Reversed
7.	Industrial Abuse
8.	Mechanic Pregnancy
9.	Their Sanguinary Doctrines
10.	Promised Salvation
11.	Mindseething
12.	Outro

Hound Of Hades - Keeper Of The Gates

A few quickies coming your way, so watch your eyes (also don't hurt your eyes with the obnoxious banner I made. The real version was a bitch to edit so I threw that one up there as a placeholder).

The three-headed beast, the gate guardian of Hades' lair, Cerberus the mythological monstrosity, is a complete pussy. Hound Of Hades is a new melodic deathcore band that reeks of being derivative (as if their logo didn't scream it loud enough). If this music embodies that dumb three-headed dog's ferocity, then I could sleepwalk into Hades lair and have more trouble getting out of bed than passing through the gates. Their debut Keeper Of The Gates is a prime display of heard time-and-again riffing, drop tuning boredom.

The redeeming qualities of this album? Well, there's a few. The first is that the musicianship here is completely competent. "Galton's Theory" opens with a flurry of hum-along melodies which is cool, but if you've even heard of deathcore or melodic death metal, you've heard this shit before. The Gothenburg melodies flow pretty effortlessly and there's plenty of solos. The second redeeming quality is the liberal hooks thrown into the tracks which kept me coming back for at least three or so listens before I got completely bored. Keeping in mind that this is deathcore, there's plenty of half-hearted breakdowns which usually lead to some sort of Gothenburg riff - see "Lens Of Truth." Ironically enough "Mantracker" begins with a sample from the overrated "comedy" film and coming-of-age-story Zombieland. It's only too fitting for this album.

5.0 out of 10

Tracklisting:

1.	Galton's Theory
2.	Mantracker
3.	A Blessing, A Curse
4.	Lens of Truth
5.	In Loving Memory
6.	The Most Dangerous Game
7.	Prophecies
8.	Keeper of the Gates

Septicflesh - The Great Mass

Also known as Septic Flesh's newest release. I believe their name is now one word too, so I'll be calling them Septicflesh from now on.

The Great Mass released this year to a surprisingly warm critical reception. Fans of the band seem to be a bit more conflicted. Some cry "Masterpiece" while others condemn it for losing the death metal element that made the band great. However for me, just one word comes to mind upon listening to The Great Mass: mediocrity.

Here you have a Septicflesh that, similarly to the oft-compared to Opeth (never got those comparisons, but whatever), doesn't know where to go. Septicflesh is a band that thrives on melody and a degree of subtlety that's always been about balancing the more flamboyant symphonic aspect with the thick, death metal guitars. Sumerian Daemons was a prime example of this balance in my opinion. However this album throws that balance way off, and shows Septicflesh falling from the tightrope into a crocodile-filled pit where the second group of fans are the crocodiles unwilling to accept the change.

I'm somewhere in the middle on this album. I applaud Septicflesh for trying to find their niche as a symphonic "death" metal band, but the symphonic elements on this album are just TOO much. They remind me of the worst parts of Dimmu Borgir and Cradle Of Filth, just with deeper vocals and slightly heavier guitars. The fruity symphonic elements annihilate the pounding drums and riffs that occasionally reach prominence on tracks like "Rising" and "Five-Pointed Star." However the rest of the tracks, like "Pyramid God" and "A Great Mass Of Death" are overwhelmingly symphonic. Apparently they thought power metal and forgettable symphonics would mix well on "Therianthropy" but it just makes me snarf. At least all the symphonic elements sound like they were performed by a real orchestra. It might be because they actually were. It's cool that they got those guys from Communion to work with them again.

Now there aren't many bands that can pull off symphonic death metal. It's a subgenre that frankly shouldn't exist, and even though Septicflesh has teetered on the brink of "fruitality" for awhile, this is the album that really pushed them over the edge.

5.0 out of 10

Tracklisting:

1.	The Vampire From Nazareth
2.	A Great Mass of Death
3.	Pyramid God
4.	Five-Pointed Star
5.	Oceans of Grey
6.	The Undead Keep Dreaming
7.	Rising
8.	Apocalypse
9.	Mad Architect
10.	Therianthropy