THKD’s year end extravaganza will be published on Monday, December 17th at midnight both here and over at the THKD YouTube channel. But as a prelude to the madness that’s about to be unleashed, I’ve decided to list out five noteworthy albums that were just a hair shy of making the cut. So without further ado and in no particular order…
Continue reading “Prelude to Year End Madness: 5 Honorable Mentions”
As Isolation Grind continues to evolve and grow, I’m hoping to do more “round-up” style pieces such as the one you’re about to read. The reasons for this are many, but the main ones are as follows:
1. I hope to be able to cover more ground. Let’s face it, a metric fuck-ton of metal albums get released each year, and my lazy ass covers only a small handful of them, meaning that year after year there are tons of albums I’d like to cover that slip through the cracks. Round-up style pieces seem like a pretty good option for spreading the love and giving more worthy albums some digital ink.
2. The more I listen to metal and write this blog, the more I’m starting to realize that not every album needs a five hundred word review. It’s entirely possible that I’m running out of shit to say about metal, but I honestly think a lengthy, in-depth review is a bit of a time-waster when you can just go listen to the damn album yourselves with a few mouse clicks and form your own opinion.
3. I discover and re-discover old shit just as often as I listen to new shit. I often want to write about the older music I’m listening to, but not every used CD score or re-discovery of an old album is worthy of a Top 100 Albums post. I’m hoping that this will give me the opportunity to talk about older albums, be they universally recognized classics or hidden gems on a regular basis.
As much as I’ve championed brutal death metal here at THKD lately, I’d be remiss not to review the latest album from Cannibal Corpse, the proverbial granddaddies of ’em all. I mean, I think we can all agree that this entire subset of death metal wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the boys from Tampa, who’ve now been at it for an unbelievable twenty-six years. A Skeletal Domain is the thirteenth album in their lengthy, storied career and even after only being out for a few weeks it has already garnered opinions ranging from “it’s the best thing they’ve done since 2006’s Kill” to “it sounds like Cannibal Corpse.”
Continue reading “Cannibal Corpse – A Skeletal Domain (Metal Blade Records, 2014)”
I hadn’t intended to review The Satanist; Behemoth has long been a favorite band of mine and I had planned to enjoy their first new recording in five years purely as a fan. Sometimes it’s good to just kick back and blast an album at top volume without having to analyze its every nook and cranny, and I was looking forward to doing just that. But the thing is, while I certainly didn’t expect Behemoth to disappoint, I also didn’t expect them to take such a stunning turn, releasing one of their best albums to date a full twenty-three years deep into their career.
Continue reading “Behemoth – The Satanist (Metal Blade, 2014)”
Normally, this is the part where I get all reflective regarding the year in metal. I had a scathing year-end rant all ready to go, an ice cold glass of haterade to throw in the faces of the all the people and things that annoyed, dismayed and pissed me off in 2013… and then I read what I’d written and realized that I sounded like a complete dick. What’s the point in dwelling on the negative when there was so much good this year? I had one hell of a hard time whittling down my list to just fifteen albums, and there’s still a lot out there that I’ve either yet to hear or yet to fully digest. It’s pretty darn easy to ignore the mountain of crap when there’s an equally tall mountain of greatness staring you in the face, and yet sometimes I forget that… I guess that’s what my anti-depressants are for.
Continue reading “Your world will hate this: THKD’s Top 15 Metal Albums of 2013”
Last year, Six Feet Under proved that their was still life left in their patented brand of sludgy, simplistic death metal with Undead, easily their best album since 1999’s classic Maximum Violence. With a re-tooled lineup centered around founding vocalist Chris Barnes and longtime guitarist Steve Swanson, SFU shook off the stagnancy that had set in over the course of their last several releases and proved that they were still a force to be reckoned with. I’m happy to report that this was no fluke, as the band’s tenth full length (not counting the Graveyard Classics covers collections) Unborn is even better than Undead, cementing Six Feet Under’s status as a death metal stalwart reborn.
Continue reading “Six Feet Under – Unborn (Metal Blade, 2013)”
Since 1995, Shai Hulud has been one of the leading lights of metalcore. I’m not talking about metalcore as in: “Hey! Let’s rip off Slaughter of the Soul and throw in some breakdowns!” I’m talking metalcore as in the metallic hardcore that evolved out of crossover; a true fusion of the heartfelt aggression of hardcore and the compositional complexity of heavy metal (ok, I know that description sounds like it came straight from a PR e-mail blast, but it’s the fucking truth).
Continue reading “Shai Hulud – Reach Beyond the Sun (Metal Blade, 2013)”
I can already imagine the eyebrows raising as I type this. I know, I know, God Dethroned’s seventh album probably seems like an odd choice for the top 100. But, not only is it an underrated metal album, it also takes me back to a very specific time and place in my life. In July of 2006, I packed my bags and left the asshole of the Midwest for sunny Southern California so that I could intern for Metal Blade Records in exchange for college credit, the very same label that released The Toxic Touch in October of that year.
Continue reading “THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #7 God Dethroned – The Toxic Touch (Metal Blade, 2006)”
I’ve always been a sucker for Six Feet Under’s lumbering, primitive death-sludge. There’s just something about the catchy simplicity of the arrangements, along with Chris Barnes’ patented zombie-vomit vocals that hits the spot, a spot that the hordes of overly technical fret-wankers currently comprising much of the death metal scene could never hope to so much as tickle. You see, when everyone and their grandmother is writing mind-numbing five million note non-riffs, piling them haphazardly on top of each other and calling it a “song,” Six Feet Under’s deep, memorable grooves and concise songwriting approach are a breath of fetid air.
Continue reading “Six Feet Under – Undead (Metal Blade, 2012)”
I recently saw Cannibal Corpse live for the very first time after having listened to them since high school; like most metalheads my age, I discovered the band around the time of The Bleeding and their infamous cameo in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and was blown away by their ability to mix over-the-top lyrical and visual gore with utterly eviscerating riffage. Finally seeing them live took me back to that time, those first sticky fumblings with death metal, loving it and being repulsed by it at the same time and loving that bizarre mixed feeling, wondering what people would think if I told them I was heavily into a band that had songs called “Fucked with a Knife” and “Stripped, Raped and Strangled.” But seeing them live wasn’t all misty-eyed headbanging nostalgia, it re-affirmed that Cannibal Corpse are still a force to be reckoned with; titans of death metal who have made a career out of pumping out some of the most quality-consistent, full-on brutal music the genre has to offer.
Continue reading “Cannibal Corpse – Torture (Metal Blade, 2012)”
WARNING: The following year end rant contains numerous piss poor attempts at humor and a healthy dose of cynicism. Reader discretion and a grain of salt are advised. THKD cannot be held responsible for anyone suffering from a severe case of butt-hurt as a result of exposure to this rant. Thank you for your support.
Continue reading “THKD’s Top 10 Metal Albums of 2011”
Raw, primal, hypnotic. These terms describe the hellish, killing floor blues of Robert Johnson and Howlin’ Wolf just as aptly as they do the grim, violent black metal stylings of Darkthrone and Mayhem. And yet the two genres are complete polar opposites. Or are they? French black metal quartet Glorior Belli doesn’t think so. Beginning on 2009’s Meet Us at the Southern Sign, the band began experimenting with combining black metal and the blues, to devastating effect. On The Great Southern Darkness, the devastation is complete, resulting a in sound that brings to mind a whiskey ‘n’ weed-fueled musical brawl between Eyehategod, Pepper Keenan-era COC, and the aforementioned Darkthrone and Mayhem. I met Glorior Belli guitarist vocalist J. at the crossroads of black metal and the blues to discuss the making of the new album, the French BM scene and other esoteric subjects.
THKD: First of all, tell us a little about the making of the new album, The Great Southern Darkness. What were you looking to accomplish with this release? How would you describe the album’s conception?
J: Same motivation as usual, we always aim to top our past efforts, this time by going even further into incorporating those Americana/Southern/Blues sounds that we cherish. Our last record “Meet Us At The Southern Sign” left me with a feeling of non-achievement, sort of, it’s still a good album but feels like a transition record while “The Great Southern Darkness” emphasizes all the best of Glorior Belli elements into a monolith of Deep NOLA grooves and blazing darkness. The entire process of creation went smooth, took us about half a year from the very first riff ’til we could hold the Master CD in our hands.
THKD: Unfortunately, my digital copy of The Great Southern Darkness did not include lyrics. What can you tell us about the lyrical themes being explored on the album?
J: Well, it took me longer to write the lyrics than the damn music as I’ve spent a lot of time studying and arranging the texts in a poetic way, like I always did in the past. A French guy rhyming in English and singing about the forces of the nightside, it can’t get any better. It’s really important for me that people understand the lyrics, as my ultimate goal is to give them the opportunity to forge the weapons of their own liberation, yet my words will confuse the weaker minds just like the fire of Lucifer can both illuminate and destroy. This is one of my favorite parts (taken from ‘Negative Incarnate’): “From behind the nervous curtains of my trembling cosmic prison, the dark Gods are firmly waiting filled with hatred for the cosmos; outside the frame of creation lies the darkest of all secrets, the magic of the queen dragon waits for us to crush the gates!”.
THKD: You started incorporating blues elements into your sound on Meet Us At the Southern Sign and have continued to refine your fusion of black metal and blues on The Great Southern Darkness. What for you personally is the connection between the two genres? How are they alike and how do they differ from one another in your eyes?
J: It’s kinda like playing with what may seem like 2 opposite elements but in the end they interact with each other. The very first thought that comes to mind when you think about a desert for instance would be the heat… Yet if you go further more into the reflexion, you’ll realize that it can also be deadly cold at night time. Just like the Blues can be devilishly attractive and hypnotizing too. It’s nothing complicated to mix up the genres if you keep in mind what you’re going for in the end. I wanted this record to be almost inviting but still dark and this duality, that could apply to any other life situation, is what keeps the balance in the right position.
THKD: Is blues music popular in France? How did you discover the blues and what prompted you to attempt combining it with black metal? What classic blues artists have influenced you over the years and more specifically your work on the new album?
J: I wouldn’t say it’s really popular as in “trendy” but lots of musicians of course enjoy it. I personally have a thing for Howlin’ Wolf, Robert Johnson obviously, John Lee Hooker, also some of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s best hits, more or less all the classics. I’m really in love with a record called ‘Negro Prison Blues’, the convicts were singing over a beat that they actually made while breaking rocks at the penitentiary. Primal, deep and going straight to your gut and soul. That’s how I like my Blues.
THKD: Which genre do you feel a closer kinship with, black metal or the blues? Has your work in Glorior Belli influenced you more in one direction than the other or have you found a balance between the two styles?
J: Like I said earlier, I think I found the right balance now. Made peace with my past, I’m not fighting against Black Metal anymore now and I don’t want to be influenced in one direction more than the other but rather maintain that balance.
THKD: Black Sabbath started out as a blues band. Do you think heavy metal has always been some sort of mutant form of the blues at its core? Do you think Robert Johnson and Leadbelly would’ve invented heavy metal if electric instruments had been around back then?
J: Now come on! Basically all the genres are some sort of mutant family tree. People experimenting, mixing, giving birth to a new sub-category and so on. But those things take time and Robert Johnson would still have been Robert Johson even if the devil had given him an electrical 8-string Meshuggah guitar.
THKD: Many black metal bands I’ve interviewed believe that the genre is an inherently Satanic form of music. Do you agree with this and why or why not? Is blues music also Satanic? Certainly the legend of Robert Johnson would seem to support this. Is Glorior Belli a Satanic band?
J: I think we’ve been talking about Johnson a bit too much already. Anyway, Glorior Belli is a satanic band if you base your definition on the fact that we are fighting against the lies of the Demiurge, for our essence is to defy and challenge the bastard gods and to pierce through the walls of our cosmic jails. On a more personal note I have been gathering knowledge over the past 10 years or so and experiencing my own path through practices that you wouldn’t even dare to dream about. I don’t think it’s mandatory to sing about Satan when you’re in a Black Metal band as evil can be found in many forms and most certainly in our very own essence.
THKD: Are you at all influenced by any of the bluesier metal bands that have come before, such as Danzig, Corrosion of Conformity or Eyehategod? Why do you think the incorporation of the blues into metal has been mostly an American trait in recent years?
J: CoC and Eyehategod are amongst my top favorite bands. I don’t think Metal bands in France/Europe understand exactly how to incorporate Blues elements into their sound, it’s more like they’re trying to get as close as possible to the American Stoner Rock scene but fail at defining their own identity, at least for the most parts.
THKD: Glorior Belli recently released a music video for the song “They Call Me Black Devil”. What made you choose this particular song for the video? How would you describe the experience?
J: Well basically, there’s a lot of humor in that video, starting with a fake budget-denied letter that I made myself underlining the cheapness of what’s to come. It’s kind of a fuck off to the music industry that echoes to the Red Fang video clip “Wires” where they waste $5,000.00 on trashing random stuff with a car. I understand it can be confusing but that was the whole point of the video clip anyway. The rest is just really random, as I did it on my own with just a small camera. The most important thing here is the music, and they actually call me Black Devil for a good reason.
THKD: The Great Southern Darkness is your first album for Metal Blade. How did you hook up with the label and how has the partnership been so far? At first glance it seems like kind of a strange pairing.
J: I got to know Andreas from Metal Blade ‘Europe’ by some contacts/friends. But it’s not like we had a special pass or whatever. Sent the new record, they loved it and super agent Ula from Clandestine Music helped us seal the contract. being signed on Metal Blade is definitely the greatest achievement for what started 10 years ago as a small yet ambitious band. I only expect the best out of this collaboration as we are absolutely determined to do what we have to in order to promote our new record the way it should be. I can feel that not a single drop of energy is being wasted and there’s a cool symbiosis in the collaboration. I’ve never been confronted by such professional and yet really supportive people, they know how to take care of business with high levels of passion and perseverance. So that’s one less thing I need to worry about as a musician, and it takes a lot of weight off my shoulders to be honest.
THKD: Will you be doing any touring in support of The Great Southern Darkness? How would you describe the Glorior Belli live experience to someone who hasn’t seen you? Any chance you’ll make it over to the US?
J: Nothing confirmed yet, besides an Australian tour next year with friends from The House of Capricorn that should happen in early 2012. Got a couple of shows in November booked in Belgium/Holland/Germany and an exclusive Canadian date in Montreal on November 25th. Basically you will experience the sense of trekking through dark deserts and evil fields with Lucifer as personal guide.
THKD: The French black metal scene has always been strong and extremely diverse. Why do you think this is? How do your surroundings influence your music, if at all?
J: I’ve never been one to believe that actual geographical frontiers could be determinant in the creative process. I don’t even feel like I belong to any kind of scene, if you close your eyes for a minute and listen to the CD, well except maybe for my ugly accent, I dare you to say this is French BM. What? You did?! Alright then. I guess it must be well-deserved somehow. It’s true we have a bunch great bands around here, but mostly great individuals who don’t care about limitations, just like me. Guys who don’t have to pretend.
THKD: What are you currently listening to? Do you have any recommendations for THKD readers?
J: Lately I’ve been listening to The Dillinger Escape Plan, Botch, Rome, 16HP/Woven Hand, Down, Alice In Chains, Neurosis, Mastodon, Acid Bath, Kyuss…
THKD: Are there any final thoughts you’d like to add?
J: We will defeat and bring down the cosmic scheme! See you all Frogerz somewhere down the road.
Sweden’s Vomitory has been crafting quality death metal since 1989. Their latest album, Opus Mortis VIII, is their most crushing and accomplished to date. How many bands can say they are more ferocious than ever twenty-plus years into their career? I spoke with drummer and founding member Tobias Gustafsson via e-mail about the making of Opus Mortis VIII and life in death metal.
THKD: Vomitory has been going since 1989. To what do you attribute the band’s longevity? How has your conception of what Vomitory is changed over the years? Has the band gotten the attention it deserves?
Tobias Gustafsson: Ever since we started the band back in 1989, we have never had any big ambitions or high expectations. And therefore we never got really disappointed or discouraged, I believe. We have done our thing our way at our own pace. There sure have been setbacks even for us, just like any other band, but in some way it has been rather easy for us to deal with the problems and then carry on. There were never any big egos in the way in the band either. We also never made our living out of the band, so we have avoided a lot of the “evil necessities” that comes with that. Our approach to this whole thing back in 1989, was to hang out and play death metal just because we love it. And that’s basically how it still is today.
We started out as a pure underground band and remained so for a number of years. Then we stepped things up a few notches when we got signed to Metal Blade Records. Our albums sold better, we got more exposure, got a lot better tours etc. During the last few years I think we have stepped things up even more. We have gained more recognition for our long and hard work and the fan base seem to grow constantly. During this development, we have become more professional in our approach to the band, the scene and the business. I guess you get the attention you deserve, but sure, we always want more and I honestly think that there are too many shit bands out there today that get way too much attention for their own good.
THKD: What inspired you to start the band? Do those same things still continue to inspire you today?
TG: It was our guitarist (also my older brother), Urban Gustafsson and Ronnie Olson (ex vocals) who started Vomitory in October 1989. I actually joined a few months later. The band was started because of the love for the brutal and extreme. Bands like Sodom, Slayer, Venom, Celtic Frost and Napalm Death were all reasons why we wanted to play brutal. I’d say that some of those bands are still to this day substantial influences to us. I guess you can figure out which ones haha…
THKD: When you started Vomitory back in ’89, did you ever imagine you’d still be doing the band in 2011? Why or why not?
TG: No, not in my wildest dreams. I sure thought that the band would be going for many years, but not for 22… Many of our fans aren’t even 22 years old! Damn, we’re old haha. When I was younger, and I’m sure this is quite common, I had an image of how my life would be when I was older. Say, 37 as I am now. I did see myself still playing drums but not in Vomitory. Not because I didn’t want it, but I thought that life would perhaps go in another direction, both musically and everyday life. But I’m really happy with how it turned out and I’m very proud of what we have achieved with Vomitory during all these years.
THKD: What is it about death metal as a genre that has compelled you to do it for 20+ years? Do you ever see yourself not playing death metal?
TG: I don’t know. Probably most importantly, we love playing brutal, intense and fast music. Maybe it’s the feeling of “this is our own music”. That feeling has always been very strong, especially during the very first years. The mainstream people still don’t know much, or anything at all, about death metal and I love that. Along with our growing recognition in the scene, we have of course got more encouraged to keep going. And it has been worth it.
THKD: Does it annoy you that all these new jack bands are coming out of the woodwork and aping the classic/traditional Swedish death metal style, while you’ve been consistently flying the flag for over two decades?
TG: Yes, it’s a bit annoying because it’s obvious where many of them get the inspiration from, but they don’t sound nearly as good as originals. They’re doing it so baaad! I don’t like that style of “death metal” at all. Rather the reverse. But I’m not thinking of it as if Vomitory has been overlooked because of those bands. We know what we’re doing and we’re doing it quite good, and I’m sure our fans see the difference between us and those new bands that are trying to be brutal.
THKD: What can you tell us about the new album, Opus Mortis VIII? What were the circumstances surrounding it’s creation?
TG: The circumstances were rather fucked up, to tell you the truth. The writing process kind of got stalled halfway through, due to private reasons, so we had to finish a lot of the material in the studio during the recording session. That is not something unique for a band, and certainly not Vomitory, but this time around it was ridiculous. Some time before the recording start, I also recorded the drums for the new album with The Project Hate MCMXCIX “Bleeding The New Apocalypse“ (which I realize now afterwards took too much focus from the preparations for Opus Mortis VIII) and I also underwent back surgery for a herniated disc last October. So we never really got the time to rehearse the songs that were finished properly. But in some unlikely way we managed to create one hell of an album, and not only that – it’s probably one of our best ever. Well in the studio we worked our asses off, and so did Leon Music Studios owner/producer/engineer Rikard Löfgren, who outdid himself once again. We played the song “Hate in a time of war” together for the first time just the other day, and that’s the truth!
THKD: When and where was the new album recorded? What was your mindset going into the sessions and what were you looking to accomplish that you might not have yet achieved with Vomitory’s previous seven albums?
TG: The album was recorded in November last year in Leon Music Studios outside Karlstad/Sweden together with owner Rikard Löfgren, and mixed and mastered in December. This is our third album we’re doing with him in his studio. My – and the band’s – mindset was obviously to get the album done at all, haha! But part from that little detail, we wanted to continue and develop mixing the speed and intensity with more groove, to get a more varied album. We did that on our previous album, Carnage Euphoria, but on the new one we worked more determined on that. Then there’s the usual – we always aim on making a better album than the previous one on all accounts; songs, riffs, lyrics, production, individual performances, artwork. So far I think we have managed to do so.
THKD: Unfortunatley, my digital promo of Opus Mortis VIII did not include lyrics. Can you tell us a little about the album’s lyrical themes?
TG: Even though Opus Mortis VIII is not a concept album, at least half of the lyrics are about war, which is quite common when it comes to us. The other lyrics are in the true Vomitory tradition: torture, death and gore. Brutal music calls for brutal lyrics and that’s what we do. We don’t have an agenda or message that we want to spread with our lyrics, but we do want to entertain with sick and brutal violence with our lyrics.
THKD: You recently shot your first ever music video for “Regorge in the Morgue”. What made you decide to a video after all these years and how did you choose this particular song? How would you describe the experience?
TG: We have wanted to make a proper video for many years, but we never really gave priority to it and we didn’t have the financial possibilities until now. We have always had other, more important things, to spend the little band money on. But now the time was right, and “Regorge in the Morgue” felt like the obvious song from the new album to make a video to. It has a “hit quality”, it’s short (2:32 min) and it was rather easy to come up with a cool idea for it. It was great fun shooting the video. The shooting took less than 12 hours and then the video guys spent a couple of weeks working on it. It was shot in an abandoned dairy factory, which was very fitting with all the white tiled walls and rough industry feel. I think the video turned out great.
THKD: Who created the cover art for Opus Mortis VIII and what does it represent?
TG: It’s made by the Polish artist Lukasz Jaszak. It was Peter (Östlund – lead guitar) who came up with the working title “Opus VIII” in the beginning, and after brainstorming we ended up naming the album “Opus Mortis VIII”. It was also Peter’s idea to have a string quartet of these wounded (or already dead?) soldiers, playing in the middle of a battle field where a full-blown war is going on behind them on the cover. They’re playing the Opus Mortis – the opus of death. Quite epic. I’m really happy with the artwork and it works so well with both the musical and the lyrical content of the album.
THKD: What else do you have planned for Vomitory in 2011 and beyond? Will you be touring in support of Opus Mortis VIII?
TG: We will do a few festivals in Europe during the summer and by the end of October until mid-November, we will do a European headlining tour. Dates and details will be announced soon.
THKD: If Vomitory could be a part of the ultimate death metal show, what other bands would be on the bill with you and why would you choose them?
TG: We have actually already played something very close to the ultimate death metal show. That was the No Mercy Festivals in Europe in 2004. Some of my favorite death metal bands ever were on the bill, Exhumed and Cannibal Corpse being two of them. But if I could make up a new dream line-up it would look somewhat like this: Cannibal Corpse would definitely have a spot on there, just because they’re a killer live band, great guys and they represent everything that is death metal. Exhumed because they are one of my absolute favorite bands ever and they’re great guys too. I’d pick Vader and Napalm Death because of the same reasons. And if I could go back 20 years in time, I would also include Entombed and Grave.
THKD: What are you listening to currently? Do you have any recommendations for THKD readers?
I am currently listening to the upcoming Exhumed album “All Guts No Glory”, which I absolutely love! To me, it’s the most anticipated release for the last five years! I’m also spinning “Mutter” with Rammstein, the 80’s albums with Rush and the very first albums with Motörhead. I command everyone to check out the new Exhumed album “All Guts No Glory”, which will be out soon. I also recommend the latest Unleashed album “As Yggdrasil Trembles”. Great Swedish death metal!
THKD: Are there any final thoughts you’d like to add?
TG: I think you covered it all up pretty darn good here. Thanks for the chat! Check out our new album Opus Mortis VIII and stay away from jail and crappy music. Cheers!
Pentagram should have been huge. They should have been America’s answer to Black Sabbath, our very own harbingers of doom. But somewhere along the way, things went horribly awry. Vocalist/mastermind Bobby Liebling let his drug abuse take precedence over his music, and the band couldn’t even get their shit together long enough to get signed to a decent label or release an album until fourteen(!) years after forming. More often than not, Liebling and Pentagram have appeared destined for failure. Yet here he stands in 2011, holding a Metal Blade recording contract and being backed by arguably the strongest Pentagram lineup of all time. Having never been addicted to anything (well, maybe caffeine and heavy metal, but I’ve managed to kick the former), I suppose I’ll never understand what Liebling has been through over the past four decades, but whatever that personal hell might have been, I’m glad he managed to claw his way out of it, especially when an album as stellar as Last Rites is the result. Liebling isn’t here to be a another rock ‘n’ roll casualty. He’s here to kick your ass, and uh, to quote the man himself, “show ’em how”.
Looking like some kind of fucked up yet infinitely wise old wizard (possibly the same wizard that popped up in my review of Dawnbringer’s Nucleus), Liebling rocks harder and with more energy than a hundred men half his age can muster. The man is unstoppable, as his inimitable vocal performance on Last Rites attests. He’s one of metal’s last truly great, distinctive vocalists, sounding as vital and vibrant here as he did on the archival recordings featured on the First Daze Here collections. Like all the Pentagram full lengths, Last Rites is a collection of classic songs that never received the proper treatment as well as newer compositions, and Liebling attacks them all with equal vigor.
Then there’s Victor Griffin, Liebling’s right hand man. He is an out-and-out master of ten ton doom riffage, wielding a guitar tone that is best described as an iron fist sheathed in a velvet glove. It’s warm fuzziness gently caresses your ears as it pummels them on tracks like “Treat Me Right”, “Into the Ground” and “Walk in Blue Light”. Anyone who’s listened to Griffin’s Place of Skulls knows that he’s all about the savior, but you’d swear that he’d had to have struck a deal with Lucifer himself in order to command this kind of fiery six-string righteousness.
It’s interesting to me that many of the older doom metal practitioners, such as Liebling and Griffin, are down with the good lord. So many modern doom bands embrace the dark side, and it seems they missed the entire point of Black Sabbath (both the song and the band). Ozzy and Co. weren’t happy to see Satan standing before them, they were fucking terrified (“Oh please God help me!”). That to me is what doom metal is about; coming to the grim realization that conjuring up the forces of darkness isn’t a good thing and struggling to attain some semblance of salvation, even if there is little or no hope of it. That might sound strange coming from an avowed atheist, but for whatever reason I’ve always seen doom as a some sort of biblical struggle between good and evil taking the form of debilitatingly heavy riffs. Liebling and Griffin understand this inherently. They’ve danced with the Devil longer than any mere mortal has a right to, and somehow managed to come out of the ordeal not only alive, but at the height of their powers. Now it’s their duty to deliver the warning, keeping all of us from suffering the same fate. These are the things I hear when I listen to Last Rites.
Regardless of your stance on the spiritual matters of doom, you should have no problem appreciating Last Rights. This is timeless music played with conviction and craftsmanship, something all too rare in today’s flavor-of-the-minute fueled metal scene. Last Rites is one of my favorite things I’ve heard so far this year, and hopefully the support of a respectable label will wake more people up to the fact that Liebling and Pentagram are nothing short of a goddamn national treasure. Doom on, brothers and sisters.
At this point, my love for Australian metal is well documented. I compiled an Australian metal scene report for Invisible Oranges, and have separately interviewed Vomitor, Denouncement Pyre, Cauldron Black Ram, Stargazer and Hotel Wrecking City Traders. Now add Assaulter to that ferocious list. Their sophomore album and Metal Blade/Poison Tongue debut Boundless! is one of the year’s finest metal albums, a neck-wrecking brew of black metal, thrash and epic traditional heavy metal that will pummel your sorry ass into dust and incinerate the remains. I tracked down vocalist/guitarist S. Berserker via e-mail and the following interrogation ensued…
THKD: Boundless! is a huge step up from Salvation Like Destruction in all aspects. How would you describe the musical evolution of Assaulter between the two albums?
S. Berserker: I think it’s simply a case of us knowing exactly what we wanted to do with ‘Boundless!’, where as ‘Salvation….’ was essentially a trial by fire. It’s no secret that the debut was a right cunt of a process to record. You live and you burn. We had a few extra bucks, but were far more prepared and had worked harder on our arrangements. Musically speaking we’ve honed in our style on ‘Boundless!’ – It’s sharper, harder and tougher.
THKD: Was there anything you were looking to accomplish with Boundless! that you hadn’t achieved with your debut?
SB: In all honesty it was just to record and release an album that we felt was Assaulter to a tee. It had to be tightened and screwed in all the right spots. We wanted to record an album that was absolutely Metal most pure – Hooks, leads, aggression, speed, sprawl – All that kind of stuff. We had a little bit more coin this time ’round too, which allowed for a better sound. You can essentially hear everything on ‘Boundless!’ unlike the first LP.
THKD: What lyrical themes are being explored on Boundless? How would you describe your approach to writing lyrics?
SB: Power, propaganda, proselytism – That’s the essence of it all. I think it’s best if people just read the lyrics, but, for example, we cover the ‘flag of liberation’ in ‘Exalt the Master’, a tribute to the proselytising of the broken, godless and conquered. A nod to our modern day ‘Animal Farm’ in ‘Slave to King’, and the burning-brightest star of man in ‘Outshine’ which is essentially ‘Better to burn out than fade away’……… that’s as much as I’ll say. All the releases will feature the lyrics, so get from them what you will!
THKD: When and where was the album recorded? What was the recording experience like this time around? Did you record yourselves or with an engineer/producer?
SB: It was recorded and mixed at a small ‘establishment’ on the Central Coast called Emerald Point studios. Drums were done at Challenge studios in Sydney. All mixing was done by ourselves with two bloke from the Elanora Hotel called the ‘Bonic Bros’. Like any good recording session, it was loaded with high blood pressure, trials and fuck-ups, but, according to us, it came good in the end. We have a clearer idea as to how we will record the next album. I think when it comes to engineering, unless you REALLY know what you’re doing, it’s best to leave it up to the pros.
THKD: Describe your approach to composition. Does Assaulter write songs as a group, “jam”, etc, or is there a “primary songwriter” in the band?
SB: A lot of the material on ‘Boundless!’ was written by myself, with Hellfinder contributing to some aspects of a few songs, but embellishing all of them with his guitar themes. Jamming can fuck off. I think it would have to be the WORST way to write. I find it better to develop the crux of a song in solitude and then work out the finer details with Hellfinder.
THKD: The songs on Boundless are dark and heavy, but also have a catchy, almost epic vibe that really sets Assaulter apart. Was this approach intentional or a natural byproduct of your songwriting style?
SB: A bit of both really. I mean, you naturally put everything through the sifter so that only the strongest elements of a song remain – Yet, the riffs tend to come naturally to a certain extent. The most important element to me is the arrangement.
THKD: In listening to Boundless!, I detect some traditional heavy metal influences in addition to thrash and black metal. Is this accurate? What bands have inspired you over the years?
SB: Fucking oath. Clearly you’ve actually listened to the album. And, I’ll just add, it’s very, very fucking annoying when you see a reviewer say something like “….this is just thrash like the old Teutonic three….” or whatever. The fact is, the riffing probably has more to do with your straight up Heavy Metal than it does with ‘Thrash’ per se. That’s how I see it. Listen to the lead guitars – Oh so Heavy Metal in scale and playing. I don’t know how people can’t hear that?Inspiring bands???? Eh, too many to mention. I find a lot of bands inspiring – Whether they’re an influence is an entirely different kettle of fish.
THKD: There are tons of memorable riffs and some cool solos on Boundless!. How would you describe your approach/technique as a guitarist? What is your equipment setup?
SB: Just play, really. Play until a riff sounds right, or a bridge sits well. If you wanted to talk guitar techniques, you’d have to ask Hellfinder, as he’s the man with all the chops.
THKD: Boundless! was released in conjunction with Metal Blade Records and Primordial vocalist Alan Averill’s Poison Tongue label. How did this come about?
SB: Poison Tongue is like a sub-label to Metal Blade, more aimed towards the underground – The idea for the label came from Alan when he threw the idea towards Metal Blade. I’ve been a friend of Alan’s for many years and he approached us with his idea for the label and whether Assaulter would be interested. We naturally took up the offer, and it seems to be actually looking to bear more fruits than we’d predicted. Having said that, promotion is good, but we have no idea how it’s selling.
THKD: Assaulter features former members of Destroyer 666 and Razor of Occam. How did your experiences in other bands affect your approach to Assaulter?
SB: Not in any way at all as far as we’re concerned. A new band is a new band. Critics don’t see it that way though – I find a lot of them to be very fuckin’ lazy… “Ex-D’666 member – Well, clearly it must sound like D’666, problem is, it’s not as fast…” or shit like that. I don’t think ‘Boundless!’ actually sounds like D’666 at all.
THKD: Australia is known for producing a wealth of great blackened thrash bands like Assaulter, Destroyer 666, Nocturnal Graves, Razor of Occam, etc. What do you think it is about your country that inspires this particular type of music?
SB: This gets asked a lot and I really have no idea. I think bands here tend to influence each other, as it’s our own ‘scene’, you know? I think this theory would have been more relevant before the days of internet, but it still seems to hold water. So, yeah, I have no idea.
THKD: What are you listening to at the moment? Do you have any recommendations for THKD readers?
SB: Wardom – When Darkness Reigns (Get this if you can!)
Accept – Blood of the Nations
Death Breath – Stink up the Night
Danzig – Lucifuge
Grand Magus – Hammer of the North
THKD: Will you be doing any touring in support of Boundless? Think you’ll ever make it to the US?
SB: Mate, we would be happy to tour anyway. Actually, anywhere. About to start the planning for hitting Europe in 2012. I guess if the album sells, we could get to the States????? Who knows how the ‘industry’ works these days………..
THKD: Are there any final thoughts you’d like to add?
SB: No, no thoughts. A cheers to you for the interview and support and ‘hoi’ to anyone looking for Assaulter merchandise – Hit us up at: burning_front@hotmail.com
Salut!
My “real life” has a nasty habit of getting in the way of my “metal life”. A while back I had planned to start a regular “Band of the Month” feature for this site. But “real life” concerns such as family, wife, work, etc prevented me from having the time or inclination to feature a new band each and every month. Undeterred, I had hoped to resurrect the feature for the new year and make Ghost 2011’s inaugural Band of the Month. Then shit happened, as it often does, and I didn’t finish the piece in time. Even though I’ve come to realize that regular features are for people with more free time on their hands than I (and in honor of the stateside release of their debut album), I present a discussion of Scandinavia’s premier Satanic pop group, Ghost.
Sweden’s Ghost is a very special band indeed. A theatrical stage show, an anonymous membership, over-the-top Satanic lyrics and a beyond-infectious sound have brought the sextet a great deal of attention within the metal underground, and with good reason.
Despite the underground buzz, I’m not so sure that I’d call Ghost a metal band. There are hints of Mercyful Fate and Blue Oyster Cult in their melodies, but to me they’re more along the lines of occult hard rock or even power pop. Yes, the dreaded “p-word” is actually the first thing that comes to mind when I listen to Ghost’s debut album, Opus Eponymous, which has finally been released domestically thanks to Rise Above’s deal with the fine folks at Metal Blade. While pop music might be the bane of many a metalhead’s existence, I am not among them. A well crafted pop song is one of life’s most sublime pleasures, and the members of Ghost (whomever they may be) understand this implicitly. In fact, the less I think of Ghost as a metal band and the more I think of them as pop music, the more I enjoy them.
There is an interview with Glenn Danzig in the book Lucifer Rising where he discusses the idea that the devil would not appear to us as something frightening or horrific; the devil is a master of temptation and would manifest himself as something enticing and seductive. Ghost similarly realize that you’re not going to seduce the masses with black/death metal, you will only preach to the converted. Songs like “Ritual” and “Satan Prayer” are Satanic hymns that even the most mainstream-minded of music fans could potentially enjoy. Of course there is the question of the lyrics, but do pop music fans even pay attention to lyrical meaning, as long as it is catchy?
There is one other very intriguing musical comparison that hadn’t occurred to me until several others pointed it out… The Beach Boys. I’m a bit disappointed in myself for not thinking of it right away myself, as my wife is a pretty big fan of them. Something about the way the vocals are produced, particularly during the choruses of songs like “Elizabeth”, “Stand By Him” and “Satan Prayer” definitely evokes Pet Sounds, albeit with lyrics about Elizabeth Bathory and black masses. I wonder if Ghost was actually influenced by Brian Wilson’s layered vocal harmonies and psychedelic pop stylings. Ghost should cover “Wouldn’t it Be Nice”. That would be creepy and awesome.
Just as intriguing as Ghost’s music is the mystery surrounding the band’s membership. There are rumors that members of Repugnant and Watain are involved, but nothing has been confirmed as of this writing. I even saw one very far-fetched theory that suggested Fenriz was the band’s drummer, but anyone who’s read a Darkthrone interview in the last decade knows that the man detests playing live. Whomever may be involved, I find it fantastic that they have been able to keep themselves anonymous in the age of the internet. It only adds to the subtle creepiness of their music and the hooded menace of their stage show, featuring what can only be described as an undead Satanic Pope on lead vocals. I suppose some would see the theatricality and willful air of mystery as silly or trite… these are probably the same dull tools praising all the faceless/soulless metal currently flooding the market played by dudes who look like the cashier at your local convenience store. The internet has taken away our sense of wonder and awe, leaving us to long for the days when bands like KISS and Alice Cooper seemed like insane, mysterious superheroes. Ghost is music for the kids who stood in front of the mirror with an upside down tennis racket and pretended to be Gene Simmons (I can’t be the only one, right?).
Ghost is a difficult band to pin down. Are they a particularly stellar entry into the recent occult rock movement (ie The Devil’s Blood, Jex Thoth, etc.)? A group of true-blue Satanists looking to spread their gospel to a mainstream rock/pop audience? Are they a doom band or a black metal band as some would have us believe? Are they the bastard children of King Diamond, Brian Wilson and Buck Dharma? There are no easy answers. Whatever they are, I happen to think they’re pretty fucking brilliant.
Behemoth’s music videos of late have been delightfully, unapologetically over the top. Their latest clip for “Alas, Lord is Upon Me” from last year’s Evangelion is no exception. You know the drill; breasts, blood and blasphemy, but Behemoth presents these tried ‘n’ true metal visual accoutrements in a way that is at least somewhat fun and interesting to watch. Besides, anything is better than yet another drab performance clip. There aren’t too many bands out there doing much of anything to justify the existence of music videos in the post-“real MTV” era (by “real MTV” era, I mean back when the channel was relevant and actually had quite a bit to do with music), but at least Behemoth are giving it a shot. I also recommend their equally entertaining video for “Ov Fire and the Void”, which features Nergal and the boys feasting on angel’s wings.
In other Behemoth-related news, frontman Nergal was recently rushed to the hospital, to be treated for an undisclosed illness. This has forced the band to cancel all upcoming tour activities. THKD wishes Nergal a speedy recovery.
According to Istapp’s bio, the trio was chosen by the Gods to bring about the destruction of the sun, plunging the Earth into a state of eternal cold and darkness.
Using black metal to carry out this mission, I would have thought the Swedish trio had some seriously grim ‘n’ frostbitten work ahead of them. Turns out I couldn’t have been more wrong. The many melodies found on Blekinge sound bright and triumphant, the atmosphere almost celebratory. I’m not saying this is “happy” black metal by any means, but there is just something about the band’s approach that sounds undeniably ebullient. Istapp are pleased to be ushering in the new Ice Age, resulting in some seriously infectious musical output.
The aforementioned guitar-based melodies will lodge themselves in your skull; the audial equivalent of cranial impalement by giant icicles. The rhythm section is relegated to providing bedrock for the guitars and vocals, well played but nothing that really stands out. The lead vocals are entirely in Swedish and are probably the most aggressive-sounding aspect of Istapp’s arsenal. There are also some clean-sung harmonies and refrains that recall folk metal, and although I’m not a fan of that particular subgenre, they work nicely with Istapp’s knack for crafting songs that soar like high winds carrying the breath of winter over the land. Synths and acoustic guitars pop up occasionally to add yet another dimension to the sound.
Of course, if the band’s gelid genocide plot really were to be carried out, there would be no one left to listen to their music. That would be a damn shame since Istapp’s approach to black metal is about as catchy as it gets. The songs are short and to-the-point, supported by a crisp, somewhat trebly production. In Istapp’s frozen wasteland world, these songs would be playing on the last working radios before the final, frosty whiteout takes over completely.
Ultimately, I don’t think Blekinge is a grand declaration of war against the sun; it is a victory lap. In their own minds Istapp have already achieved victory in the battle against daylight, the only thing left to do is rock out with a couple frosty kegs of Spendrups and watch the planet ice over.
THKD 