Riotor
Beast of Riot
2010 Self Release
Somehow, Canada's Riotor are still unsigned. No matter... the guys decided to just release a full length album themselves. Of the songs here, half have appeared before, and the others are new. Fear not though, the old ones have been re-recorded. Riotor did go for a strange kind of production this time around though. It sounds somewhat thinner than what they had on their previous demos, and it does give the old songs a different vibe than before. The Sacrifice meets Kreator sound is still very much present, but the production is in a full-on "Pleasure to Kill" style. Maybe I've just gotten more used to the thicker post-1990 productions on albums. Even so, Riotor do not sound like some kind of retro throwback to the 1980s. While there are some riffs that sound familiar (I'd swear that the opening of Fucking Metal" is something I've heard on Slayer's "Hell Awaits" album, while the opening of "Poser Hunter" is off something by Kreator) I can't say that I can tell exactly what song I think they're from, nor can I say for sure if they definitely were "borrowed." And the fact is that even if they were, it's not a big deal. It happens all the time. Just look at that guy on YouTube who has practically made a career with those "Metal that Sounds like Other Metal" videos. What does matter is that Riotor play their music their way and it all comes straight from the heart. What they're doing, they're doing for the love of metal, not for money. As a fan, that's all I ask: make music for yourselves first, and if others get into it then great. If not, well, you're still doing what you want to do and that's what really counts.
Briton Rites
For Mircalla
2010 Echoes of Crom Records
Anyone out there familiar with the band Cauldron Born? I sure wasn't, at least not until Stormspell Records reissued their debut album a while back. The main guy in that band, Howie Bentley, did only a couple of Cauldron Born albums and then disappeared, leaving many of the underground heavy metal types wondering just where he went. Well, he's back with this new project, Briton Rites. He's playing something far more in the doom vein now, minus any stoner vibes that seem to show up on so many other doom album these days and completely fuck up the proceedings. Briton Rites also features love him or hate him Phil Swanson on vocals. Ever since the debut from Hour of 13, Phil has been popping up in all kinds of places, this being one of them. He gets a lot of flak for sounding like Ozzy, but I personally think that it's because he often sounds better than Ozzy ever did. With the vampire theme on "For Mircalla," he has just the right amount of melancholy for the heavier than thou riffs that Howie cranks out. Howie also taks a turn on vocals for "Karnstein Castle." His voice is at least somewhat similar to that of Phil, but I think that his style would be best suited for a band that plays slow doom all of the time. Speaking of which, the music is about as orthodox as doom can get. What might surprise you though, is that "orthodox" does not mean that it must be slow all of the time. Briton Rites have songs that change speeds many times, getting somewhat fast, then dropping back to slow or mid-pace. Nothing impossibly slow here either. Something also nice to hear is that the music of Briton Rites does not sound like the music of Cauldron Born. All too often, when the main songwriter in a band decides to either try something different or start a new project, one of two things happens.... Either it ends up as an unlistenable mess, or it sounds virtually the same as their main band. Not so here. Briton Rites is a different entity entirely from Cauldron Born, and not just another aspect of the same. Briton Rites is completely doom oriented, whice Cauldron Born is pure heavy metal. Two styles, two bands, both worth your time.
Cruel Force
The Rise of Satanic Might
2010 Heavy Forces Records
It seems that more often than not these days, that I stumble across some killer metal that I would not have found out about if I hadn't been looking through someone's distro list. Such is the case with Cruel Force, a German band of deathly thrash metal that features members of Nocturnal and Old. The Witches Brew label had this album in their distro, and the name more or less forced me to go check out some tracks on their Myspace page. I immediately put the album on the list of things I was buying from WB at that time, and when I got this disc, I was not disappointed in the least. I guess that reading through distros is the new version of reading through thankslists in order to find killer bands. It used to be that if you read the thankslist on an album, you were more or less guaranteed to find at least one new band you were previously unfamiliar with, but were destined to become a fan of. Same thing here. I just found a label that puts out things I like to listen to, checked out their distro list, and BAM! I got hit over the head with Cruel Force. They're more or less in the same style as Hellish Crossfire, Desaster, Witchburner or Ketzer (and no, I don't think it's a coincidence that all of those bands are also from Germany). A couple of things make Cruel Force stand out though. First off, the vocals of Carnivore are heavier than those of most other bands in the sub-genre. Second, the production that this quartet of rockin' cadavers got here is stunning. I really can't think of the last time I heard a debut album that had this good of a production sound. Nothing drowns out anything else. None of the band members is higher in the mix than the others, and every single aspect of the music is practically crystal clear. Obviously, some serious time, consideration and (probably) money were put into the creation of this album. I've heard a lot of albums from very established bands that don't even come close to the sonic perfection we've got here. I would say that I hope to hear even more from Cruel Force soon, but I'd rather that they do what they did here and take their time to put out another quality album that shows the same kind of effort and love for metal that we hear on "The Rise of Satanic Might."
Decayed
Chaos Underground
2010 BlackSeed Productions
Despite having formed in 1990, and having at least one new release every year since then (except for 1994, 2006 and 2009), Portugal's Decayed don't seem to get the respect they deserve. I'm fortunate to have just about every CD they ever put out (keeping up with their vinyl releases is as daunting a prospect as keeping up with those of Nunslaughter or Sabbat), and I'm of the opinion that they've never had a bad release, including those of their various side projects such as Hoth, Alastor and Thugnor. Everything Decayed has done has been, to my ears, a perfect blend of death thrashing black metal. Last year saw not one, but two new studio albums from Decayed. "Shadow - Land" and this one, "Chaos Underground." There is nothing here that maniacal fans of the Australian or old Brazilian scenes would not like. You can easily find similarities to Destroyer 666, Sarcofago, Dark Angel, and just about anything else in those styles. Really, I could have reviewed any of their albums, and I'd practically have the same things to say. That's not a knock against the band, mind you. "Progression" is very overrated, and I tend to prefer the AC/DC, (newer) Overkill or Bolt Thrower approach of having a core sound and sticking to it. The new year is just starting, and I'm already curious as to what these guys have in store for us. I just know that whatever they release, it's going to be great.
Druid Lord
Hymns for the Wicked
2010 Horror Pain Gore Death Productions
I guess sometimes you've got musical ideas that don't fit in your regular band. Equinox members Pete Slate and Tony Blakk have come up with a whole new project by the name of Druid Lord. Like a lot of other newer bands that have come along as of late, Druid Lord seem to be focused on two things: doomy death metal and 1970s era horror movies. The obvious comparisons to bands such as Hooded Menace, Acid Witch, or even Skeletal Spectre and Tombstones can be made, but Druid Lord do not have what I would term the "Razorback Records sound." They avoid the general campy aspects of Tombstones and have a decidedly "American" sound that sets them apart from the likes of Hooded Menace. Tony Blakk does a good job on vocals, but I somehow keep thinking that they should really look into hiring Kam Lee. Kam and Tony have a somewhat similar style, but Kam has a lot more dynamics to his voice. Musically, Hooded Menace have said that they're like a death metal version of Candlemass. If that's true, then Druid Lord are the death metal Saint Vitus. They somehow make each song seem longer than it really is, drawing out every riff as much as they can and squeezing every last drop of venomous doom from it that they are able to. If you like the idea of death metal mixed with doom, have found that funeral doom bores the living hell out of you, and you've heard enough Celtic Frost / Winter type bands, then this could be what you're looking for.
Bombs of Hades
Chambers of Abominations
2010 Blood Harvest Records
I'm not sure if this is going to be pressed on CD, but what I am sure of is that Bombs of Hades do not sound like a product of metal's modern era. But let's not make the mistake of calling them a "retro" band either. If you've got members that were around in the early days of death metal and were making music back then, you're the real deal. And with Jonas Stålhammar and Butch Ekman, it doesn't get much more real than that. Both of these guys were in Abhoth, and Jonas was part of Utumno and God Macabre... and now is handling vocals in The Crown. So yeah, the guy is a bit of a legend in the scene to us old farts. All of that said, Bombs of Hades do not sound like a band that would have been around twenty years ago. They sound more like what a band of that era would sound like today. The core Stockholm style sound is there, but it has been combined with a lot of other influences that your "retro" type bands have most likely not even heard. Most metal fans, myself included, more or less stick to metal and rock, but I know for a fact that Jonas listens to a lot of different kinds of music. While I can't for certain pick any non-metal influences out of these songs, I do strongly believe that they are present. This is the kind of fusion that gives us better sounding metal. The people that listen to metal and only metal are the ones who end up forming fifteenth generation clone bands. Instead of rehashing the past, Bombs of Hades have instead brought that past forward to the present day. If the 1990 Stockholm scene was founded today, this is the kind of death metal we'd be hearing from that part of the world.
Atlantean Kodex
The Golden Bough
2010 Cruz Del Sur Music
This one just made it out in enough time to be among the very best releases of 2010. If it hadn't, then it would have ended up on the best of 2011 lists that are yet to come. Even so, I think most (including the majority of metal "journalists") will overlook this album. "The Pnakotic Demos" really only gave us a general idea of what Atlantean Kodex are all about. "The Golden Bough" gives us the bigger picture. While not quite a concept album, the songs do all center on the idea of where our beliefs come from, and is based on the book of the same name by one Sir James Frazer. The short story is that Sir Frazer hypothesized that man's belief system was rooted in magic, which gave way to religion, and has since given way to science. While his theories have been criticized (after all, religion is still very strong today), this album does not strive to defend or attack his work. Instead, Atlantean Kodex have taken the path of "what if?". What if these theories are in fact true? Alright, if that went over your head as it did mine, let's just talk about the music itself instead. The band draw heavily from Manowar's early albums (think of songs like "Battle Hymn," "Secret of Steel" or "Bridge of Death"), as well as from Bathory's "Twilight of the Gods." I think most reviews I've seen mention "Hammerheart" and not "Twilight...", but this album shares the same long, drawn out format of epic metal as heard on "Twilight...". But that's neither here nor there. Atlantean Kodex also walk the line between epic (a term I dislike, as it generally is applied to power metal, which this band certainly is not) and doom metal. Doom, because the songs are all heavy as Hell, and "epic" because well... they're just that. Epic. Huge. Just go listen to them and compare them to the material I previously mentioned by Manowar and Bathory. You'll grasp the concept immediately. Massive sound, long songs, big concepts, and it all comes down to one incredible album that you simply should not miss.
Hell Darkness
Rockin' Underground
2010 Doomentia Records
New project here from a member of Tangorodrim. Heller handles the vocals and guitar, while Darkness takes care of bass and drums. You know, I think I figured out where they got the name "Hell Darkness" from. Anyway, Hell Darkness play unholy black 'n' roll exclusively. The style is sort of a more punk rock take on Darkthrone, and Heller's voice reminds me a lot of Atze from Germany's Blizzard. While far from what I'd call "innovative," the band sure can write some riffs that you're meant to headbang to. And honestly, that's all I really give a damn about. Simple, straightforward and in your face. That's what rock and roll is all about, right? Already looking forward to more from these guys.
