Thou Art Lord - The Regal Pulse Of Lucifer

Sakis Tolis is an interesting figure. Rotting Christ started out as a pretty sweet grindcore outfit before moving towards black metal and eventually a dark, ambiguous extreme metal sound. As a side project he founded Thou Art Lord with George Zacharopoulos (of underground Necromantia fame) under the pseudonym Necromayhem in 1993 and since then they've served as Sakis' vehicle for a more abrasive, guttural sound. I've only heard Thou Art Lord's material post-2002 in which Sakis became the primary vocalist.

Now on NWN! Prod, Thou Art Lord continue their satanic Greek terror campaign.

The more conventional Rotting Christ and subtle Necromantia influence has always been present in Thou Art Lord's music from the occasional subtle synthesizers to the Sakis' signature abuse of tremolo harmonics. The Regal Pulse Of Lucifer is no different with opener "Nine Steps To Hell" being littered with those signature riffs. Thou Art Lord differs in quite a few ways from both Rotting Christ and Necromantia in that the project has plenty more thrash and death metal influence. "ΠΟΛΙΤΕΙΑ ΔΑΙΜΟΝΩΝ" being the obvious pick out of the tracks on The Regal Pulse. The stereotypically descending chromatic riffs, d-beats merged with blasting and tremolo riffing, as well as the occasional guttural vocals really describes their overall feel best. There's just something so distinctly Greek in style about it that makes it special. The Hellenic metal scene is hardly dead, but The Regal Pulse Of Lucifer is almost like an ode to the scene.

Sakis' guitar leads are fantastic when they pop up. All of his material tends to lean on the simple side but they're damn catchy and that's what makes them so good. They never sound like needless fretboard exercises, always fitting the flow and feel of the track. "Justicia Profana" is a great example, where the lead and minor solo bit becomes entwined with the main riff for the final third of the track. That's not to discount other cool guitar moments like the subtle lead on "Artificial Malevolence."

The production and mixing is solid and grainy. The catchy guitar leads shine through the high-gain rhythm support and The Magus' (George) bass has plenty of low-end to it although naturally it doesn't come up in the mix on its own much. One thing I found kind of silly though was the use of samples and short intros to tracks. The humorously pitch-shifted vocals at the beginning of "L'Evangelium de Diable" heralding the start of the track were a bit out of place. The synthesizers on "Infernarium" were a bit over the top for my taste too.

The Regal Pulse Of Lucifer is a solid album and the only Thou Art Lord release that really stuck with me after a single listen. I should really get around to hearing Rotting Christ's newest but I have to say AEALO left a bad taste in my mouth.

7.25 out of 10

Tracklisting:
1. Nine Steps To Hell
2. ΠΟΛΙΤΕΙΑ ΔΑΙΜΟΝΩΝ
3. Das Messer
4. The Regal Pulse Of Lucifer
5. Artificial Malevolence
6. Justicia Profana
7. L'Evangelium de Diable
8. Infernarium
9. Fire And Blood

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Fleshgod Apocalypse - Labyrinth

Life takes unexpected and often frustrating turns that require you to mull and contemplate over issues that end up being trivial in the end anyway. That's why I haven't posted much of anything in over a month, and quite frankly I needed the time off.

In better news I've been listening to a boatload of new music. Some of it awful, some of it fantastic. Since I've been feeling pretty down lately I'll start with one that you really don't want to listen to: The sequel to 2011's Agony: Fleshgod Apocalypse's Labyrinth.

Let me clarify: it is stupid to expect anything akin to Oracles from these guys at this point. I certainly wasn't, and part of me only listened to this album to see what overblown monstrosity these Italians would churn out next. Agony was one of my most reviled releases of 2011 for its disgusting use of an orchestra and bombastic, plastic sounding instruments. That's not to mention the awful, incoherent mash-up that sounded, as one internet-dwelling metalnerd stated, like a "Disney soundtrack thrown into a blender." The emphasis of Agony was solely on the 'orchestral' elements and the guitarwork took a backseat to everything.

I don't even think there was a bass.

Anyway Fleshgod apparently noticed some fans' reactions to the lack of intricate guitarwork and claimed that with Labyrinth they would merge more technical guitars with the 'orchestral' elements of Agony. I have to give them credit there. They did make good on their promise. There are a bunch of solos ("Minotaur," Pathfinder," "The Fall Of Asterion," etc.) and significantly more riffage compared to Agony's monotonous chugging.

Songwriting remains an enormous issue on Labyrinth, and the orchestral elements are still left on their own more often than not. There is no real merging of metal and a symphony here, just two completely separate entities playing at the same time. It's like playing Bach in one ear and Suffocation in the other and calling it symphonic death metal. The female supporting vocals are atrocious when they're not negligible. Opener "Kingborn" is unbearable for this reason and "Towards The Sun" is an absolute abomination of a track even with them being used sparingly. We will not even speak of "Under Black Sails." Seven-and-a-half minutes of nauseating ear-pain...

The mix is just as depressing as it was on Agony. Everything is muddled and compressed and it makes listening to the album a more frustrating experience than it's worth. The most straightforward and metal track on the album, "Pathfinder" (and by far the best), sounds like it would've fit at home on Mercenary's B-sides, or maybe as an extreme extension of what Fleshgod Apocalypse tried to do on Mafia. The absolutely shitty production is largely to blame for that.

Now I wasn't expecting much from Labyrinth and I can't even say I'm disappointed. What I still don't really understand is how Fleshgod Apocalypse still have fans after they went to Nuclear Blast. Even the album art screams "recycled lukewarm bullshit." However they clearly have gained quite a following as you can glean from all the internet buzz surrounding them, so good for them. Maybe someday if Fleshgod Apocalypse continue down this path they'll be able to fill the shoes Septicflesh filled nearly a decade ago.

2.5 out of 10

Tracklisting:
1. Kingborn
2. Minotaur
3. Elegy
4. Towards The Sun
5. Warpledge
6. Pathfinder
7. The Fall of Asterion
8. Prologue
9. Epilogue
10. Under Black Sails
11. Labyrinth

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Wormed - Exodromos

I've been meaning to complete all these half-finished reviews I've had sitting around since...forever. The problem is I never get around to it, and then I get sidetracked with life's many nuisances. Having a smidgen of free time over the next few days should allow me to finish a few of these drafts and hopefully cover newer material as well.

But we'll see.

Wormed's Planisphærium remains a powerhouse of brutal slam; its technicality nearly unmatched and its uniqueness equally as elusive in the subgenre. The production value of Planisphærium was apt for the style. The scooped mids and loose, loud snare tone all contributed to making the album memorable, even if it was the brilliantly executed guitarwork that really delivered the 'technical cyber space slam' vibe that Wormed became known for. Exodromos' mix differs in that the mids aren't scooped, and the low-end is completely brought up. The bass range is limited to higher frequencies and there's really not much variation on the bottom end. It's a disappointing release on that front, and as soon as I got over that I was able to enjoy the album for what it was, kind of.

Still not as good as Planisphærium.

Pulsating and occasionally brilliant riffs radiate from Exodromos' sub-supermassive core. Wormed like to play with their listeners; they shift and blur riffs as to make predicting their next move impossible. Highlight track "Tautochrone" is a good example of this. About a minute in and the heavier, chugging riff shifts into a blastbeat segment before the main melody of the track breaks through right into another thick, chunky riff. I can appreciate the songwriting decision, and it makes the more direct tracks stand out like pulsars amidst the cosmic void. "Stellar Depopulation" is one of the more straightforward tracks and features a short-lived slam that decays into stop-start blasting and a chromatic melody that eventually evolves into something more beautiful.

Much of the previous standout riffing comes together during the album closer "Xenoverse Discharger." This track brings the best elements that you heard earlier into a singular(ity) fold. It makes for an atmospheric end, and is easily one of the best tracks on Exodromos. Speaking of atmosphere, the random spoken word ambient tracks are boring as all hell. "Solar Neutrinos" totally kills the momentum of the album for me.

Maybe I miss the standout slams of Planisphærium a bit too much or maybe it's just the production, but either way I find Exodromos to be a second-tier release. It's certainly not bad by any means, but after listening to "Xenoverse Discharger" you realize that the majority of the albums' best moments can be summed up in just six minutes.

7.75 out of 10

Tracklisting:
1. Nucleon
2. The Nonlocality Trilemma
3. Tautochrone
4. Solar Neutrinos
5. Multivectorial Reionization
6. Spacetime Ekleipsis Vorticity
7. Darkflow Quadrivium
8. Stellar Depopulation
9. Techkinox Wormhole
10. Xenoverse Discharger

Bandcamp

Tribulation - The Formulas Of Death

For anyone who heard Tribulation's The Horror back in 2009 I'm sure The Formulas Of Death was a hype piece. The Horror was brutally refreshing coming from the revival scene. It was crammed with stunning, nigh-perfect riff progressions at a breakneck pace, all backed with plenty of hooks and a solid production.

The Formulas Of Death is a different beast, and I can only commend Tribulation's willingness to experiment with such a successful formula (intended puns are the best puns). Perhaps Tribulation realized that the revival movement was full of enough knuckle-dragging apes and that there was nothing new they could add without becoming redundant and falling prey to fans' fleeting memories. Whatever the case, they made the right decision with their newest release.

Progressive music is a mixed bag of brilliant ideas and haphazard, fruity garbage that I wouldn't deign to listen to. Progressive elements are generally a good thing as they can add variety and enhance the dynamic of many songs. They can be overbearing and obnoxiously obvious in the case with popular progressive acts like Opeth on their later material, or far more subtle and nuanced in the case of a band like Anata. The Formulas Of Death falls under the latter category, and progressive is the last thing anyone would associate with the revival movement. There's loads of atmospheric interludes, guitar effects, eastern scale progressions, dissonant arpeggiated chords, and free-range breaks to the typical Swedish sound. For example the middle of "Suspiria" is slow, backed by a two-beat and flanged harmonics before falling into a bass groove sprinkled with dissonant muted notes. Eventually the track phases (quite literally) back into reality before phasing out again to explore a few more areas of the aural plane.

Each track on The Formulas Of Death has elements which set it firmly apart from whatever The Horror was doing. While this might be a disappointment to some, the music is equally compelling and in many aspects better. I love the subtle displays of musicianship throughout the album. Solos are (obviously) technical and almost feel improvised, and other times the effects dominate the sound of them to the point that the notes are almost unrecognizable. In the end they always fall back into a traditional sounding mold which keeps them entertaining. "Through The Velvet Black "is a solid example of this. Jakob Ljungberg's rhythm work is highly varied and in the middle of a riff progression he'll switch beats, either increasing the speed of the kicks or adding cymbal embellishments where necessary. Every member of the band does their part to create a refreshingly experimental-lite, death metal album.

There aren't any truly standout tracks on this album either. There are no headbangable crusty death metal d-beaters or anything like that. I guess "Wanderer In The Outer Darkness" might be the most approachable from that mindset, but even with how direct it is, the track is anything but stereotypical. With an underlying atmosphere evoking imagery of a wandering trek through the desert, swampy marshlands, or foggy moors, The Formulas Of Death is a very visual album. The production and heavy use of effects add to this feel, giving each track its own personality like the listener is traversing different aspects of a deranged psyche. Their use also keeps the album's variation and my attention at a high. This makes The Formulas Of Death memorable even after quite a few listens.

It might be a bit of a risky move, but I think Tribulation have really caught onto something with The Formulas Of Death. The seamless merging of progressive elements, dynamic songwriting, and Swedish-tinged death metal is something that isn't all that common. They execute it damn well.

8.75 out of 10

Tracklisting:
1. Vagina Dentata
2. Wanderer In The Outer Darkness

3. Spectres

4. לילה
5. Suspiria
6. Through The Velvet Black
7. Rånda
8. When The Sky Is Black With Devils
9. Spell
10. Ultra Silvam
11. Apparitions

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Tormented - Death Awaits

I'm not really sure which new release is worse. Death Awaits is frustrating in the same way Entrails' Raging Death is. Much like their boring titles, the music contained in both is predictable and forgettable. The only difference here seems to be that I was expecting more from Tormented since Rotten Death was great thrashy fun. I can still jam out "Death owns the Night" and get stoked for the section where vocalist Dread is like "With deadly force it'll take control and bring you to your death!" Damn these guys love to use 'death' in literally every lyric and song title...

This is an an album that would've satisfied me had it been more of the same. The massive production, focus on d-beats, and simple but entertaining riffs were all highlights of Rotten Death. Opener "Death Awaits" lets on that same feel but quickly devolves into slow double bass and mid-pace riffing. "Blood Orgy" luckily cuts to the chase but doesn't really do much when it reaches its destination in d-beat town. The same can be said of "I.O.T.D." and nearly every track on Death Awaits. It's like one giant cocktease that blueballs you and instead of leaving decides to take a knife to your jugular. In other words this release is painfully disappointing.

The slower, even mid-paced tracks are pretty much unbearable. "To Spill Her Blood" is inane even when it gets faster. Luckily it's followed by "Funeral Fire," one of the few solid tracks on the album along with "Black Sky." What's weird is that the rhythm element seems even more underdeveloped this time around, and it was already pretty rudimentary on Rotten Death. I guess Jocke Ölund's drumwork has gotten a bit faster, but the band doesn't utilize that slight increase in speed to their advantage. There's not much in the way of memorable riffing here either, and much to my dismay there's no infectious tremolo melodies or obnoxiously loud scale fondling.

As I briefly mentioned, the production is significantly more subdued and compressed compared to Tormented's previous output. Rotten Death was awesome for it's bombastic guitar tone and loud, crashing cymbals. This album has none of that. The production and mixing isn't awful, but the music on Death Awaits can't really stand on its own like it could have on Rotten Death. A disappointing but not inherently bad release, I'll wait for Tormented's next.

5.0 out of 10

Tracklisting:
1. Death Awaits
2. Blood Orgy
3. I.O.T.D.
4. Insane With Dread
5. To Spill Her Blood
6. Funeral Fire
7. Into The Crypts Of Death
8. Black Sky
9. In The Presence Of Death

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Wreck And Reference - No Content

This one will be quick - there's only two (short) tracks to cover.

Wreck And Reference released a brilliant LP, No Youth, last year. Now they've released a companion piece, No Content, for it.

Both tracks are noisome, hypnotically engaging pieces of work. "Absurdities & Echoes" is a potent piece of buzzing guitarwork and sustained notes. The vocalwork is engrossingly anguished but very dreamlike, sounding more like traveling through some sort of nightmare realm as a voyeur than as a subject of the horror. The second track "Abhorrence" takes the frightening aspects of that realm and submerses you in them. "Abhorrence" features the same sustained notes with an ascending progression that eerily stops while belted vocals scar the reverberating air. The vocals are harsher on the second track and it takes you into the nightmare realm again as the victim of some sort of self-inflicted mishap.

Cool stuff, although the ending of the second track leaves me wanting more from both that track and from Wreck And Reference, who have proven their worth, in general.

7.5 out of 10

Tracklisting:
1. Absurdities & Echoes
2. Abhorrence

Bandcamp

Entrails - Raging Death

Entrails are a death metal band with a history in the scene but no real material prior to their reformation in 2008. Their album covers look like other big name releases, and their music sounds like other bands. They reformed just in time for the revivalism fad and are proving to be prolific.

Raging Death is their newest album, and their first release on Metal Blade. I can't be the only one who gets an uneasy feeling in their stomach when I hear that a band is signed to that record label. Every artist who paid in blood to be signed to Metal Blade might not be terrible, but damn do they try their best to castrate great artists. Some manage to avoid falling victim to their obvious marketing ploys, and others are great at self-marketing (ie: The Black Dahlia Murder) so they can get away with personal influence on the sound of their material. I don't even know if it's solely Metal Blade's fault but there's certainly a strong correlation between dull music and getting signed to one of the big labels.

Entrails obviously couldn't. Metal Blade de-clawed and neutered this Swedish death act. Gone is the thicker production of The Tomb Awaits, replaced with a soulless cadaver of the Swedish death metal aesthetic. One listen to "Headless Dawn" or "Cadaverous Stench" will have you shaking your head in shame and disappointment. There's really no excuse for this frustratingly lifeless sound on such a plainly constructed record. Raging Death fits the Swedish death metal stereotypes otherwise: melodic choruses interspersed amongst d-beat and blastbeat verses, barked vocals, and the occasional clean interlude or attempt at building a sort of visual atmosphere.

At its best the formula is lighthearted fun, fueled by energy, and is rampagingly aggressive. At its worst, the formula is throwaway tripe that goes in one ear and out the other. Sometimes the difference is separated by a thin line and unfortunately Raging Death falls on the latter's side. The few standout moments the album does have (the solo on "Death League" and the d-beats on "The Cemetery Horrors" count, I guess) are thrown to the wind for the generic dynamic of the album. There's nothing really wrong about the musical element of the album though.

I don't ask for much, but I would like my Swedish death metal to at least not annoy the hell out of me when I have it playing as the soundtrack to whatever mundane task I'm currently involved with. While musically Raging Death might be alright, that damn production is too frustrating to satisfy even this small request.

3.75 out of 10

Tracklisting:
1. In Pieces
2. Carved to the Bone
3. Bloodhammer
4. Headless Dawn
5. Cadaverous Stench
6. Descend to the Beyond
7. Death League
8. Chained and Dragged
9. Defleshed
10. The Cemetery Horrors

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