ALBUM REVIEW: Lumbar, "The First And Last Days Of Unwelcome" Reissue

By: Matt Fitton

Album Type: Full Length

Originally Released: 12/11/2013 
Resissue: 11/01/2019

Label: Southern Lord Recordings | 
Argonauta Records | Anima Recordings

 

“The First and Last Days of Unwelcome” is just a big ol' stick of Doom. If you cut it in half it would not only thank you, but it would actually say 'D-O-O-M' in giant letters down the middle. Killer riffs slower than the expansion of the sun, soaking wet with amp fuzz down tuned to -11. Harrowing and perfect in every single way”

“The First and Last Days of Unwelcome” CD//CS//DD//LP track listing:

1. Day One (05:04)

2. Day Two (02:58)

3. Day Three (02:24)

4. Day Four (02:26)

5. Day Five (02:07)

6. Day Six (05:02)

7. Day Seven (04:45)

The Review:

Lumbar is a Doom expression by three friends from the US Northwest, all of them fairly revered within their sonic circles. A project that consists of Yob's Mike Scheidt, Tad Doyle from Brothers of the Sonic Cloth and Aaron Edge (of one time Himsa). 'The First and Last Days of Unwelcome' is not only a cosmic event of grand proportions (i.e. VERY good), it also serves as a one-off snap shot of a place and time.

Lumbar has unfortunately been sidelined to just a studio project, due to the fact that Edge (who played all the music on the recording) has been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and would be unable to play a musical instrument live as a consequence. Sad as this may be, it appears that you cannot keep a good man down and Edge is already formulating a new heavy endeavour in Portland for which he will be providing the vocals. We do, of course, wish him the absolute best. A good way to do this is to convey just how great this album truly is.

'The First and Last Days of Unwelcome' is seven tracks long, and numbered as days. I wish this album actually did last a week, but bucking recent Doom and Sludge trends the 7 tracks amount to 24 minutes of bite-size gold. As much as this noise fiend loves a marathon, I also like more done with less. And there is so much on offer here.

'Day One' is instant satisfaction. Scheidt's classic holler is pure Doom delight, and the music keeps up too. Beautifully morose waves of fuzz wash over you, and you realise that you're in riff country, where the real flavour lives. The bass wobbles, and the drums crash, both of them in a death grip. As if anything else was expected at all.

'Day Two' is another sullen delight. The atmospherics in the background are faint yet intricate, and when the heavy rolls in it does not disappoint. Pretty much void of any hope or light, and you would not want it any other way.

'Day Four' is just rolling crush to begin, like a rolling pin from the left hand of death. And then it becomes all wistful and echoing at the mid-point, which is tremendous. You constantly forget about the relative brevity of these tracks, due to the sheer variation that is on display at times.

Best in show goes to 'Day Six', for just being a big ol' stick of Doom. If you cut it in half it would not only thank you, but it would actually say 'D-O-O-M' in giant letters down the middle. Killer riffs slower than the expansion of the sun, soaking wet with amp fuzz down tuned to -11. Harrowing and perfect in every single way. Edge really outdid himself throughout this thing, and it serves as a fitting testament to his playing if he never manages to commit another Lumbarrecording to tape.

This is real Album of the Year contender stuff  and 'The First and Last Days of Unwelcome' could not be more of a welcome spectacle.

“The First and Last Days of Unwelcome” is available digitally & on cassette  here. LP & CD is available here

Band info: Facebook

REVIEW: The Secret, "Lux Tenebris" EP

By: Chris Bull

Album Type: EP

Date Released: 31/08/2018

Label: Southern Lord Recordings

“Lux Tenebris” is absolutely terrifying in its delivery and atmosphere, by the time the slower riff of “Cupio Dissolvi’ cascades into the ether, you’ll begin to wonder whether you’ve listened to an EP or been sacrificed to a dark entity.

“Lux Tenebris” DD//LP track listing:

1). Vertigo

2). The Sorrowful Void

3). Cupio Dissolvi

The Review:

Italians The Secretare a band that are difficult to pigeonhole. Equal parts blackened hardcore, sludgy crust and nihilistic grind, with a pinch of apocalyptic doom for good measure, they seem to get heavier...and indeed better, with each new release. So it comes as no surprise that ‘Lux Tenebris’ the new 3 track EP is a maelstrom of hell fire and fury.

From the slow build of 'Vertigo' with its evil melodies penetrating the methodical black magic ceremony within, it switches gears as it struggles to contain the raging beast that is 'The Sorrowful Void'. Absolutely terrifying in its delivery and atmosphere, the track takes no prisoners and the blastbeat halfway through is almost a respite from the oppressive nature of the music.

Closer ‘Cupio Dissolvi’ is probably the blackest and nastiest the band have ever sounded; the tremolo riffs, blasts and d-beats create a magnanimous and utterly filthy piece of music that stands out among this year’s releases. By the time the slower riff cascades into the ether, you’ll begin to wonder whether you’ve listened to an EP or been sacrificed to a dark entity.

“Lux Tenebris” is available here

Band info: bandcamp|| facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Eagle Twin, "The Thundering Heard"

By: John Reppion

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 30/03/2018

Label: Southern Lord Recordings

“The Thundering Heard” is a dense and rich record; full of aural and textual interest. It’s a record that makes you think, makes you imagine.  It is a visceral, heavy, epic Riff Monster of a record with horns of flame and hooves of stone.

“The Thundering Heard” CD//LP//DD track listing:

1). Quanah Un Rama 

2). Elk Wolfv Hymn

3). Heavy Hoof

4). Antlers of Lightning  

The Review:

“Longhorn running ‘cross the dead salt sea / Mountains rising up like beasts with horns like trees / Antlers reaching high, like a forest… On fire!”

“The Thundering Herd (Songs of Hoof and Horn)" is Eagle Twin's third full-length album, following on from 2012's "The Feather Tipped the Serpent's Scale" and 2009's "The Unkindness of Crows". Like its predecessors “The Thundering Heard " deftly blends crushing, yet hypnotic riffs and beats, with American literary Folk Horror. Which is pretty impressive for a two-piece, really.

“Quanah Un Rama” (a fittingly bicornuous title based on Hellboy's Enochian name "Anung un Rama”, and Quanah Parker, Comanche war leader of the "Antelope" people…possibly) opens with a harmonic drone from vocalist/guitarist Gentry Densely’s throat. At once bestial and like some primal religious vocalisation, this inhuman sound underpins much of the record. Then a Big Fat Riff kicks in. And it is Massive. Truly earth moving. The guitar sounds (right across the record) are just… wow. More Om than Sleep, but with all the groove and swagger of the latter. The track jams on and on moving from part to part, texture to texture, but the same narrative remains throughout; every progression is a natural and necessary, and another chapter of the same story. When Densely chants “Come now / Thunder / Come now / Thunder cloud” over Tyler Smith's tribal tom-work, it sounds like a genuine summoning. You will believe that the sky above the studio was black that day.

“Elk Wolfv Hymn” swells in dreamily, yet ominously. We huddle close to the wilderness campfire for another folk-tale of stags and vultures and trees, of mountains and antlers and wolves. And in that same magical way Earth managed with “The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skul”l, there’s something so incredibly American about the actual sound of the music itself. The wild, untamed, real America where bears and mountain lions and alligators think nothing of cracking and crunching the bones of humans to get to the marrow within. And crow keeps watch all the while.

“The Heavy Hoof clips / The Heavy Hoof clops / And the Heavy Hoof stamps on your grave”. Another massive riff. Another tom thumping groove. Another absolute belter of a tune, which seems to threaten to evolve into the heaviest version of “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” you could possibly imagine at one point. But that doesn't happen.

“Antlers of Lightening” begins as pure Sabbath Doom: lumbering, tritone laden heaviness with proclamations of the terror to come in the form of the lightning antlered one. Again through, as the music evolves, the guitar becomes more frenetic, and everything builds and builds and builds, we get an idea of the emerging narrative. We hear the destruction wrought by the electo-horned deity, and the fate of those who dared to try to stop it. About ten minutes in it seems for one moment like we're going to get an actual “Children of the Grave” style chug-a-chug-a-chug-chug breakout riff. Instead things slow back down and jam out until we reach the bitter-sweet outro of the album. A gentle but melacholic ending, like a cold dawn breaking.

“The Thundering Heard” is a dense and rich record; full of aural and textual interest. It’s a record that makes you think, makes you imagine. It very much brought Algernon Blackwood’s Weird Fiction tales The Wendigo and The Willows to my mind; tales of the wilderness and the things which walked there long before man ever did. All that said, “The Thundering Heard" is not some deep-thinking, post-something, soundtrack to an unmade movie. It’s a visceral, heavy, epic Riff Monster with horns of flame and hooves of stone. 

“The Thunder Heard”is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Centuries - "The Lights of This Earth Are Blinding"

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 26/01/2018

Label: Southern Lord Recordings

“The Lights Of This Earth Are Blinding” is a compelling release with a split personality,  like a cross betweeb Cursed with subtle hints of black metal and the crushing sound of “Remission” era Mastodon with a more direct punk aggression.

  

“The Lights of This Earth Are Blinding” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. The Lights of This Earth Are Blinding
2. Wooden Hands
3. Bygones
4. Soil
5. A Bow Across A String
6. The Climb
7. The Endless Descent
8. May Love Be With You Always
9. Fury
10. Nul Orietur

The Review:

Originally from Florida, the members of Centuries are now scattered far and wide between Pittsburgh, Nashville and even Manchester in the UK. Fortunately geography hasn’t got in the way of them making a great second LP in the form of “The Lights of This Earth Are Blinding”.

The record rips into life with the raging title track, a two and a half minute blast of crusty hardcore riddled with hard sludge riffing. This sets the tone for the first half of the LP which comes across like Cursed with subtle hints of black metal. The breakneck rush of “Bygones” is especially furious, bolstered by some pummelling blastbeats.

“The Climb” opens the second half of the album with a marked drop in tempo but maintains the same level of venom and bile. This track marks a shift in tone as the likes of “May Love Be With You Always” and “Nul Orietur” see Centuries metal leanings coming to the fore. This results in a crushing sound reminiscent of “Remission” era Mastodon but with a more direct punk aggression.

The biggest surprise here is “Fury” which begins as a dark acoustic lament that erupts into a grand finale. The sparse opening section of the song makes sense of the acoustic instrumental “Wooden Hands” which appears earlier in the album. On first listen this piece feels jarring after the explosive title track despite its moody restrained menace but further listening marks it out as a premonition of the heaviness to come.

“The Lights of This Earth Are Blinding” is a compelling release with a split personality. It will be interesting to see what path Centuries tread from here but whatever happens it is sure to be a heavy ride.

“The Lights of This Earth Are Blinding” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Agrimonia - "Awaken"

By: Chris Bull

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 26/01/2018

Label: Southern Lord Recordings

'Awaken' is a tour-de-force of genre hopping doom. It should see the band gain ground on their contemporaries and even surpass them.

“Awaken” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. A World Unseen
2. Astray
3. Foreshadowed
4. Awaken
5. Withering
6. The Sparrow

The Review:

Gothenburg's Agrimoniahave always been a difficult band to pigeonhole; partly epic and expansive doom, partly crusty, blackened death metal, they seem content to don the cap of each of the aforementioned genres whenever the mood is befitting. It should come as no surprise then that 'Awaken', their 4th full length, slithers and writhes with venom and bile in tow.

Opening with the majestic 'A World Unseen', a track that owes as much to Primordial as it does Dissection, Agrimonia put as much into one nine minute epic as some bands do on entire albums. It's an opening statement that implies that further surprises lay ahead...and lay ahead they certainly do; from the Paradise Lost with blast beats of 'Astray'to the haunting melodic intro of 'Foreshadowed'and through its Dismemberstyle death metalisms, there's very little for the casual listener not to enjoy!

The title track sits at the centre of the album and, despite its mesmerising melancholy, and the fact it is a 3 minute instrumental, seems oddly juxtaposed. 'Withering' gets back on track with 13 minutes of captivating death/doom before final track 'The Sparrow' weaves a sombre tapestry before triumphantly galloping headstrong towards the album's shimmering, sobering conclusion.

'Awaken' is a tour-de-force of genre hopping doom. It should see the band gain ground on their contemporaries and even surpass them. For this, you're going to need to pack spare clothes and snacks, for this musical journey is truly epic.

“Awaken” is available to preorder/buy here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Friendship - "Hatred"

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 03/11/2017

Label: Southern Lord Records |

Daymare Recordings | Sentient Ruin

Laboratories

Over the course of twenty five crushing minutes, the band show they have honed their potent blend of crust, powerviolence, grind and sludge to deadly perfection. “Hatred” feels like burying your face in a bowl of razorblades while being kicked in the stomach.

“Hatred” CD//CS//DD//LP track listing:

1). Rejected

2). Regiside

3). Corrupt

4). Tortures

5). Compton

6). Grief

7). Life Sentence

8). Blue Berry

9). Execution

10). Dirtbags

11). El Chapo

12). Treason

The Review:

The dust has barely settled from my recent exposure to Friendship’sfacemelting EP compilation. The Tokyo wrecking crew have wasted no time in releasing their debut LP “Hatred”, a relentless assault on the senses that cements their position as the current masters of all things short, fast and horrible.

Over the course of twenty five crushing minutes, the band show they have honed their potent blend of crust, powerviolence, grind and sludge to deadly perfection. There is a new found clarity and gut-churning heaviness to their bludgeoning onslaught. This has resulted in a marginally less raw and chaotic experience than before but still feels like burying your face in a bowl of razorblades while being kicked in the stomach.

“Rejected” and “Regicide” open the record in furious fashion like a warp-speed Iron Lung. Both tracks feature carefully deployed bursts of squealing feedback like a lead instrument, particularly powerful during the cacophonous climax of the latter. “Life Sentence” and “Blue Berry” find Friendshipmixing in punishing, chug-heavy sludge riffs in amongst the high octane punk mayhem that bring an intoxicating air of hardcore brutality. The bands interest in the heavier and slower side of life is most evident in the monstrous “Corrupt”, a low tempo bruiser that bristles with Eyehategod/Noothgrush sludge attitude.

A re-recorded version of “Compton” from the band’s debut EP makes an appearance at the LPs mid-point. It is significantly burlier than its predecessor and encapsulates all that makes Friendship great in two minutes. Fret-mangling noise rock riffs lead to passages of exhilarating knuckle-dragging simplicity, a perfect balance of innovation and primal no-frills punk rock.

With “Hatred”, Friendshiphave delivered in style on the immense promise of their early work.

“Hatred”is available here

Band info: bandcamp

ALBUM REVIEW: Sect – “No Cure for Death”

By: Mark Tremblay

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 24/11/2017

Label: Southern Lord Recordings

Sect have set the standard for hardcore music and what it should aspire to in 2017. If you’re looking to heavy music with a message, look no further than “No Cure for Death”.

“No Cure for Death” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Open Grave

2. Day For Night

3. Crocodile Prayers

4. Reality’s Wake

5. Stripes

6. Liberal Arts

7. Born Razed

8. Transaction

9. Least Resistance

10. Avoidance Ritual

The Review:

The hardcore supergroup Sect follow up last year’s self-titled release with a more pissed off/dystopian blast-beat infested “No Cure for Death”. If you’re looking for the sonic equivalent to Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”, this is the closest thing to it.

The one thing that immediately jumps out off of this record are the blast-beats.

This record is much more concise than its predecessor; nothing goes to waste, and no musical idea overstays its welcome. Even though none of the songs on this record hit the four minute mark, it is very clear that these songs have been carefully crafted for maximum effect and impact.

There are all sorts of riffs on this record. From the Siege-influenced “Stripes”, all the way to the Yautja-like “Reality’s Wake” there is something on here from all spectrums of heavy music. Even when bound to the tonal parameters of the Boss HM2, guitarists Scott Crouse and James Chang are able to employ such a wide range of feel and variety. Like any Chris Colohan record, however, the lyrics are the albums highlight.

Everything from society’s imminent demise with “Open Graves”, to commentary on the education system in “Liberal Arts”, there is not an aspect of North American culture and politics that is left untouched.

Sect have set the standard for hardcore music and what it should aspire to in 2017. If you’re looking to heavy music with a message, look no further than “No Cure for Death”.

“No Cure for Death” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

FOR THOSE ABOOT TO ROCK: Riffs of Canada with Big|Brave (Montreal, Québec)

By: Mark Tremblay

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released:15/09/2017

Label: Southern Lord Records

This three song magnum opus is a sonic journey through the unexpected nuances in heavy music.  “Ardour” is Big|Brave fully realized and fully formed. In a genre full of chaotic noise, the refreshing wave of heaviness provided by Big|Brave rises to the top.

“Ardor” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Sound

2). Lull

3). Borer

The Review:

Big|Braveare the hardest band to categorize and define in heavy music. Their latest offering, “Ardor”, is equal parts calming and cathartic. This three song magnum opus is a sonic journey through the unexpected nuances in heavy music. “Ardor” opens with the serene crusher “Sound”. Ironically, it is the silent pauses within the song that give the piece its weight and impact. Big|Brave have this ability to make every note count and matter, something that many bands could take note of.

“Lull” is the perfect bridge between the albums opener and closer. Robin Wattie vocals are extremely raw and powerful. The tonal qualities of her voice feel Like Big|Brave at their most honest and vulnerable. The album ends with an absolute sludge banger “Borer”, the heaviest track in the Big|Brave canon. By the songs end, the listener is being drowned in these extremely heavy chords that have this calming effect.

“Ardor” is Big|Bravefully realized and fully formed. In a genre full of chaotic noise, the refreshing wave of heaviness provided by Big|Brave rises to the top.

“Ardor” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Unsane - "Sterilize"

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 29/09/2017

Label: Southern Lord Recordings

  This is a flawless collection of bile-soaked missives that set the standard for riff-heavy, ugly noise rock in 2017

“Sterilize” CD//DD//LP track listing:

01. Factory
02. The Grind
03. Aberration
04. No Reprieve
05. Lung
06. Inclusion
07. Distance
08. A Slow Reaction
09. Parasitic
10. Avail

The Review:

Like Helmet, Unsane appear to be experiencing a surge in popularity due to their strong influence on the current generation of noise-rock hellraisers. Both acts have recently been the subject of all-star tribute albums but whereas Helmet are now a shadow of their former selves, Unsane sound as hungry and volatile as a band entering the studio for the first time on new LP “Sterilize”.

Somehow I have never managed to hear a note of Unsane until now. It only takes a few seconds of non-nonsense opener “Factory” to understand how they have earned their fearsome reputation. Their combination of filthy bass, feedback-drenched guitar, pummelling drums and barked vocals at the point of collapse has provided the blueprint for countless underground trios since their inception in 1988. Tracks like “The Grind” and “Aberration” bristle with a dark, unhinged energy that gives “Sterilize” a vitality that today’s young pretenders can only dream of replicating, while the shards of broken, staccato riffage that usher in “Lung” sound like prime Shellac. It’s incredible that Unsane have managed to maintain this level urgency and intensity almost thirty years into their career.

The majority of this album is a relentless onslaught of churning, damaged racket but there are a few subtle variations in tone to keep the listener on their toes. “Distance” is the closest thing here to a proper song with what appears to be some almost conventional chord changes buried under the squall, but Unsanesave the best for last with “Avail”. The track bristles with tension, switching between passages of brooding menace powered by a restless, circular bassline and outbursts of cathartic noise built around a gloriously primal riff. 

I can’t tell you how “Sterilize” compares to the rest of Unsane’svast discography. What I can say is this is a flawless collection of bile-soaked missives that set the standard for riff-heavy, ugly noise rock in 2017

“Sterilize” is available here

Band info: bandcamp|| facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: All Pigs Must Die - "Hostage Animal"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 27/10/ 2017

Label: Southern Lord Recordings

The riffs are ceaseless as Wentworth and Izzi vary from much faster chords into a war chorus of tonality. And the results are gripping at every second. It, like previous selections, is potent with APMD's militancy. Best of all, APMD made the wait well worth it.

“Hostage Animal” CD//DD//LP track listing

1.  Hostage Animal

2.  A Caustic Vision

3.  Meditation of Violence

4.  Slave Morality

5.  End Without End

6.  Blood Wet Teeth

7.  Moral Purge

8.  Cruelty Incarnate

9.  The Whip

10.  Heathen Reign

The Review:

Few albums have been more anticipated this year than the return of All Pigs Must Die. Much has been made over the years of the group's pedigree – Kevin Baker, Ben Koller, Matt Woods, Adam Wentworth and now Brian Izzi boast some of the best names in metal and hardcore among their curricula vitae – and, with each release, All Pigs Must Die has grown all the more challenging. Their combination of crust punk's most ragged strands, extreme music's most booming guitars and the sort of hostility that is aberrant even in a scene where aggressive themes are the norm has drawn the attention the band richly deserves.

When the band debuted in 2010, the term 'supergroup' got floated about a bit, even if the results were tentatively solid. With "God Is War" in 2011, APMD set itself apart thematically as well as with a fury fans today know intimately, However, you might be forgiven if you were distracted by the confrontational art of "God Is War," which instead presented more than a few complicated tales, including apostasy with the unfolding of colonialism ("Third World Genocide"), child soldiers ("Pulverization") and the illicit arms trade ("Death Dealer"). Momentum only built by 2013's "Nothing Violates This Nature." At this point APMD evolved lyrically into what can best be heard as a strong death metal influence. The imagery on "Nothing…" went from heavily topical to nihilistic and gruesome. The music's heaviness matched this approach. The slight swerve did not detract fans from following APMD to its newest stage.

"Hostage Animal" has been about four years in the making and marks a significant departure for the band. Its violent style, which has been compared over time to Slayer, Morbid Angel and even punk/noise legends The Jesus Lizard, is moving into a territory where APMD uses hardcore, thrash and speed as a base for a devilish sound in which it finds few peers. Its songwriting sees a similar kind of growth. The two paths it cut – "God is War"'s sociopolitical commentary and "Nothing"'s all-out anti-religion brutality – merge on the forthcoming album. Again, APMD has only a few worthy contemporaries in this regard.

The title track starts the recording off with breakneck speed and power. Kevin Baker's ferocious vocals from the jump are a refresher on why his style has been likened to prime (read: Scratch Acid-era) David Yow. His command of the mic on "A Caustic Vision" and into "Meditation of Violence" is spellbinding in just how searing Baker is. Lyrically, APMD intersect a few themes, but the standouts are Adam Wentworth and newcomer Brian Izzi, whose guitar work on the opening trio and then the rolling "Slave Morality" are the stuff of nightmares. The riffs are ceaseless as Wentworth and Izzi vary from much faster chords into a war chorus of tonality. And the results are gripping at every second.

Also turning in a blistering performance, and deserving a lot of credit for the power of "Hostage Animal" are drummer Ben Koller (Converge) and bassist Matt Woods (Bloodhorse). If you are familiar with those acts, perhaps one of the most underappreciated aspects was the respective contributions of Woods and Koller, who are gifted in ways few in heavy music are in terms of their ability to bring out the best in a song's foundations. They stun on "End Without End," where Koller lights the rhythm and Woods pairs up with the guitars and Baker's vociferous delivery. They also manage to shift their playing as "Hostage Animal" evolves. Hear a sturdily punk track like "Blood Wet Teeth" and a song like "Cruelty Incarnate," with its elements of sludge pouring into thrash and you get a real sense of how APMD's bass and drums anchor the release.

"Hostage Animal" closes with the record's most fascinating entry, "Heathen Reign." Not only is it noteworthy for its lyrics (which you will just have to listen to – no spoilers), but it slightly variegates the bludgeoning you get in the first nine tracks into a pensive conclusion. It even leaves you wondering if this may just be where the next release picks up. It, like previous selections, is potent with APMD's militancy. Best of all, APMD made the wait well worth it.

"Hostage Animal" is available to preorder/buy here

Band info: bandcamp|| facebook